Rebirth
by iwatchiwonder
Summary: He wasn't sure why he got a second chance. He was going to find out.
1. And so we begin, again

_**Hey Everyone- So I am obsessed with Steve. Officially. And I refuse to accept that this is over. Michael B Jordan guest starred on an episode of House this week and gave me an idea about bringing our boy back. The narrative may be a tad confusing in this chapter but bear with me. I have some stuff brewing. Steve's POV is in bold. Enjoy.**_

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><p><em>I woke up with a jolt, drenched in sweat, panting and with an unsettled feeling that let me know I would not be getting back to sleep any time soon. I was almost getting used to it. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept through the night at this point. This was just another in a long list of new and exciting developments in my new life; in my new normal. I stretch out and glance at my phone before heading to the shower. 4 hours sleep. Not bad. The noise in my head is getting clearer somehow. Like a fuzzy radio transmission that only needed to be tuned properly. I knew there was a message trying to get through. I just wasn't sure who was controlling the dials. I turn on the shower while I am heading to the bathroom. My new normal definitely had its perks and I was determined to enjoy them as long as my powers meant not sleeping and hearing voices. Not sleeping and hearing voices. I wonder, for about the umpteenth time today, whether I should just give up on this crazy mission and admit that I having some sort of mental episode. My parents were already convinced I was crazy. I hadn't exactly told them that the voices told me to pick some school in the middle of nowhere but they already thought I was crazy. Maybe I am I think grimly as I shut my eyes and let the water run down my scalp and my back. That funny resolve stirs up again and I just know that something big is about to happen and that all I have to do is wait. Maybe I would get the answers I needed.<em>

**At first all there was nothing. There was no me and no here and I existed, or more specifically did not exist (there was no me) in the nothing for a long time. Slowly and then all at once I was born again, for the second time. Then there was darkness. There was also sound. And I lay in the dark and tried to piece it all together. All I knew was to call their names Andrew, Matt. I knew I didn't need to shout. Just think their names and they'll come. Andrew, Matt. I'm here. Help.**

_I wake up with a jolt but this time I am not scared, I am not confused or uncertain. I quickly change into jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie and throw my north face jacket over it. As I slide into my converse I summon my keys and wallet over. I don't know how long I'll be gone but I finally, finally know where I am going._

I take a deep breath and let myself take off. It was hard at first but now it is the easiest thing in the world. The only part I don't like is the cold. I shove my hands into my pockets regretting that I didn't bring my gloves with me. I clear my mind and respond-I'm on my way. Hold on. After that all I have to do is follow my instinct. Something deep inside me is telling me where to go.

When I land in a graveyard I am more than a little perturbed. I stand there for five minutes trying to figure out what to do. Finally, I decide to risk just asking.

"Hello. I'm here. What should I do?" I ask. Half muttering because speaking the words out loud feel more normal than just thinking them.

"Come" the tug upsets my equilibrium and I stumble before regaining my balance. It pulls me forward. We stop at a grave with a cracked headstone. Steve Montgomery, died 2011.

"Help" the voice implores. I know I have to dig. Pushing down the revulsion that rises up in me I start to displace the dirt taking only small mounds at first because I am not sure what I will find down there. Maybe it is another shiny alien rock with superpower giving abilities. I reconsider checking myself into the student mental health facility tomorrow. I shake my head when I feel a laugh that isn't mine. It is only then that I consider the possibility that there is a person. My heart beats faster. I feel around mentally and get a sense of the coffin. I think I can pull it out.

"Is that okay?" I think asking for the person's permission before trying.

"Go for it" the voice encourages.

It's important to get a good feel for the dimensions and edges of an object before trying to lift it. You don't want to shatter it or crush it, especially when there is someone in there. Another laugh, bizarre, I wouldn't be laughing if I were buried alive.

"You would be if you weren't going to be much longer", Comes the reply as clear as day. I instinctively turn around to see if anyone's there but I know I didn't hear it with my ears.

I feel like a solid grip on it so I start to lift. The soil makes it slightly tricky. It's heavier and the earth shifts unpredictably around it as I move it. I mess up a few of the surrounding graves. Finally I feel it give way a second before it appears on the surface. I set it down gently and approach it. I am curious even though I probably should be cautious. I can kick a lot more ass now than when I was a normal twenty year old girl. The roof of the coffin shoots open and goes ricocheting into the trees in the distance almost comically.

A man sits up. His voice is rough from disuse.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you" He says.

I approach him and help pull him out of the coffin. He leaves it over eagerly and trips on his way out gulping in the fresh air and stumbling around drunkenly.

"Are you okay?" I ask. It feels strange to talk to him with my voice.

"I can't see," He responds before passing out.


	2. A Plan

I could tell she was trying to be quiet and I would have appreciated it, if she wasn't thinking so freaking loudly. I shift in bed and I can feel her focus on me. I'm not sure how long I've been asleep. I'm not sure where we are. I'm not sure who she is or how she heard me calling. It feels good to be lying in a bed. To be in my body and feel how exhausted it is. To be alive. My stomach growls and I open my eyes and sit up. The darkness is going to take some getting used to. Something in the pit of my stomach lets me know it isn't going to change that I am going to be this way, blind, forever.

She clears her throat.

"You must be hungry. I can run out and get us something" She says, mostly to herself. Her voice is soothing and her accent is foreign but I can't place it. My mind only registers 'not American'.

I clear my throat and remind myself to make an effort. She did save me after all.

"That'd be great. I'm Steve, by the way" I stick out my hand in a guesstimation of where she is standing. Her hand makes contact with mine. It is slim with long fingers. Her hand is cool in mine and her handshake is firm.

"Aisha. Do you want to shower while I'm out? I think we need to discuss some stuff when I get back. After you eat of course… Are you allergic to anything?" She asks.

I shake my head. I hear her walk away and she pauses as if she remembered something.

"Let me help you find the bathroom before I go" She says, sounding embarrassed.

"Thanks", realizing I'm not really in a position to be proud.

She gives me a quick tour of the room which is sweet but essentially useless as I am way too disoriented to even begin to understand the shape of the room. Once I hear her leave I grope around and shut the door. My telekinesis is working. I can feel it but I can't use it. Without sight to guide me I have no idea what I am doing. It's why I had no idea how to free myself from the coffin.

I reach out and find the shower, turn it on to let it run and warm up and slip out of my clothes piling them in a corner of the room. They smell like they've been locked in a box and buried for God knows how long. I don't want to put them back on.

The shower feels amazing I linger for what must be 45 minutes. Emboldened by the shower I fumble around and find a towel, dry myself and grope and locate the sink and find a toothbrush.

I hear the door open. I'm not sure how long I have been laying on her the bed enjoying the feeling of being clean and being reassured by the sound of my own breathing.

"Hey. Are you okay?" She asks. The strange connection between us means that not only can I hear the concern in her voice but I can feel it. I feel it just as strongly as if I were feeling it. It's going to take some getting used to.

"I don't have any clean clothes" I reply.

"I brought you some" She says cheerfully, approaching me "Here" She says placing something cottony in my hand. She smells like grass after it rains; fresh and earthy. "It's a t-shirt and I got you some pants and underwear as well. I don't know how stylish they are; I had to buy them at the corner shop. But they are clean. They should fit"

Without thinking I get out of bed. Her embarrassment hits me like a wave. She wordlessly hands me a pair of boxers and I slip them on. I manage to get the clothes on as well before finding the bed and lying back down, exhausted.

"I got us KFC. It's unhealthy and not really firs but it was the only thing within walking distance" She says.

"You can't fly?" I ask. She pauses as if she is unsure of whether to answer.

"I can. I kind of didn't know if you were going to freak out and blow up the town. Figured I should stay close" She explains as she dishes out the food and hands it to me. I dig in hungrily and rush to swallow before replying.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Can't you feel how unstable you are right now?" She asks.

He can so he just nods thoughtfully as he chews his food.

We eat in silence. Aisha gathers up all the wrappers and tosses them in the bin. She hands me a napkin and I clean my face.

"So do you have any idea what is going on?" She asks exasperated.

The way she puts it makes me smile.

"None. How did you hear me?" I asks.

"I just did. I guess the same way you can hear me"

I raise my eyebrow unsatisfied by the explanation.

" I was on holiday at my Grandmother's house; taking a village vacation while waiting to see which schools I got into. One day I was wandering down the hill and I found this huge crater. I climbed in and there was this…" She trails off having difficulty finding the right words.

"Shiny life rock alien looking thing" I know my voice is distant but I am taken back to the night of the party. The night I first became joined to Matt and Andrew. The day that changed everything forever.

"Er.. yeah. And my nose starts bleeding and there's this sound and the next thing I know I'm back outside my Grandmother's house. I climbed into bed and slept for a really long time. When I woke up I just felt…different" She sighs at the inadequacy of the word. Basically she woke up and was so different and yet exactly the same. It was wonderful, confusing, isolating and terrifying all at once. As she thought it; before she glanced at him and saw the look of comprehension in his eyes, she knew that he understood. She felt that he had been through the exact same thing.

"Those guys in Seattle, were they your friends?" She asked.

"What guys? What happened?" I ask.

"One of them just freaked out and started wrecking everything. I felt it all the way from Nairobi. My nose started bleeding when I was in the shower. He was so angry and out of control. I couldn't hold it in; I broke the glass shower partition thing. It was like that for maybe half an hour and then it stopped. I turned on the news and saw what had happened. How the guy he was with stopped him. How there were people in the world just like me. How dangerous I could be if I ever got mad enough." She finishes solemnly.

I already knew how dangerous we could be. My mind flashes to feeling Andrew's pain and going to find him. The sound of lightning and the smell of rain. It was so cold and I knew it was dangerous but I also knew he needed me. So I went. I shut my eyes.

She doesn't have to say the names. I know it is Andrew and Matt. Andrew got out of control and Matt had to kill him.

"Where's Matt? He's the one I was calling." I ask.

"He's on the run, I think. The secret is basically out. Everyone wants to understand what happened and how they did the things they did. If I was him, I'd be running to. His face is everywhere. The world was freaking out. Do you think there are others?" She asks.

There is nothing to say.

"What do you want to do now?" She asks.

I have no idea. My heart begins to race. I can't go home.

"No you can't go home" She says sadly "But I was thinking you could come with me. I go to school at the University of Washington. My apartment has a spare room. We could head there and figure something out, maybe try to find Matt and get some answers."

I can barely hear her over the sound of my heart and the blood rushing in my ears. I feel her hands on my knees, steadying me.

"Steve" She says my name calmly, gripping my thighs in an attempt to keep me grounded. It works. I take a deep breath and turn my head toward the sound of her voice to let her know I am paying attention.

"It's going to be okay" She says firmly "You're here okay. You're alive. We'll figure everything else out" She says dismissively.

"Everything else? Like how I am blind? And back from the dead? And my best friend killed me? And telekinetic? And I can never see my family again?" I list them calmly. My voice is flat.

To my surprise, she laughs.

"That's quite the to- do list. We'll just start with getting back on campus, okay?"

I nod.

"I heard you. For whatever mad reason, I heard you and I came to this school which was like my 53rd choice because I knew that I was going to be needed here. I am so glad that I found you because it means I am not.." She pauses and I hear her think 'alone' but she continues..." turning into a nutter. We are going to figure this out together. It's going to be okay." She says with conviction.

The funny thing is what she is letting me feel is not as telling as what she is holding back. I feel her try to radiate certainty and hopefulness but the doubt she thinks she is holding back is muddying the waters.

I still want to believe her. I choose to believe her because I have to.

We are going to get answers.


	3. Chapter 3

I sigh as I feel Steve's increasing irritation with the man in front of us. His face is a mask and he gives nothing away. I look at the poor orientation and mobility student I had found through posting on craigslist. The poor sod actually thought he was getting through to Steve. Come to think of it the way his voice got one octave higher and he said his words slower when talking to Steve made me really uncomfortable. I check myself to make sure I am not just feeling what Steve is projecting.

"There you go, buddy. Good job!" He encourages Steve condescendingly when he navigates one of the obstacles he had set up around the apartment.

Nope, I was definitely irritated by this idiot. Steve seems resigned to get through the session so I bite my tongue until I see out the instructor 45 minutes later. I smile and thank him as I hand him his 40 dollars. "Don't call us, we'll call you", I mutter as I shut the door.

I hear Steve give a mirthless chuckle at that.

He is doing so much better than when I first pulled him out. In the three weeks we've been back in Seattle he has figured out the apartment, how to use his powers to keep from bumping into stuff and is more communicative and present. Anything can set off a dark patch though. Last time it was when we were channel surfing after dinner and I paused on a report about the terrorists who had gone on a rampage and destroyed Seattle. I lifted my arm to change the channel but he stopped me. We watched the whole thing and heard from people who wanted 'freaks' locked up and who thought that Andrew and Matt were abominations and, my personal favourite, a punishment from God to smite the godless city of Seattle. Steve went to bed after that. He didn't speak to me for 2 days but I could feel him calling to Matt willing him to answer. I just hoped that this hadn't set him off.

"Okay, so craigslist isn't the best place to find medical professionals. Noted. We'll find someone better. I've actually been working on a fake ID for you. I just need a social security number" I don't add that I kind of need someone roughly our age to die first so I can snag it but from the way he raises his eyebrow I know that he picked that up. He is much better at closing off his thoughts than I am.

"It's okay. He's fine" He sighs sounding exhausted. He grips his cane tightly playing with the chord that holds it together when it is folded. We ordered it online 2 weeks ago. Since then we've been trying to find someone who could teach him how to use it. I looked up some of the basic stuff online. All the freelancers we've managed to find have either been sketchy, scary or incompetent. What Steve really needs is a new identity so we can get him into a proper rehab facility.

"Let's go fly" He suggests.

I agree readily. We've worked out a system. If we both relax enough we can be so connected that he reacts when I do and moves when I do. He changes into a jacket and scarf- he hardly ever asks for my help anymore. He grabs his cane and we head outside. He sweeps it in an arch ahead of him. He is enjoying the sun on his face and the fresh air but, as always, he is battling with feelings of despair. I admire Steve he isn't really one to give in no matter how bleak the situation is. He is a fighter. I steer him away from a pile of rubbish next to an overturned trash can. He smiles at me.

"Switch to sighted lead?" I offer.

Instead of answering he finds my elbow and grabs on. He still has his cane out sweeping arcs to locate drop offs or changes in terrain. We've been trying to figure out a land version of what we do in the sky but it doesn't work as well. My brain is too noisy and cluttered down here. So is his. I lead him down to an abandoned corner of an abandoned lot and we take off. He flies ahead; we realized it doesn't really make a difference if he is ahead. I feel my brain clear out. The awful paper I had to rush to get in on time, the cute guy in my feminist discourse tutorial who smiled at me once but hasn't looked at me since; it all washes away. The cold is invigorating but more than that is the rush, the weightlessness, the carelessness of flight.

I feel Steve laughing. Every now and then I get a sense of what he must have been like before all this; carefree, popular, with an easy smile and an open heart. With every little bit of independence he is becoming more and more like the old Steve. Which is good since dark and broody suits him about as well as the funny t-shirt and sweat pants he had to wear on our trip back to Washington. My phone buzzes. I hover mid air to check it warning Steve that I have stopped.

He doubles back toward me when he reaches the limits of his "vision"- when he has flown as far as he can trust me to see for him.

I set my phone to alert me when a match came up at the registry. An African American kid around our age died in a car accident. I yell at Steve that we need to get back. Once we get back to the flat I put the kettle on and grab my laptop while Steve heads to the shower. Committing identity fraud isn't one of my prouder moments but once you know what you are doing it is almost ridiculously easy. I wouldn't call myself a hacker- I hadn't used my computer skills for anything but coding until all this happened. The trick is not to find someone who is as similar to the person you are stealing for as possible. This is why undocumented immigrants pay so much to assume new identities. The risk of being caught is much lower the less you change. Then you have to be careful to grab the identity before the death is registered. This one was just entered so I change his social security to a fake one (it doesn't matter- they don't check the social security numbers of dead people) next I log into the court registry and bypass the security to apply for a name change. The most important thing is the social security number which I have. I swear the online affidavit and soon a new person exists.

Steve comes into the living room while I am finishing up. A book that is lying in his path flies out of his way and smashes against the wall. A page comes loose.

"You are going to have to learn some finesse. It would be nice if you could protect your toes and not destroy ALL my stuff" I say evenly.

"I'm working on it. I'm also starving- any thoughts about dinner?" He asks. Living with a boy has sent my food bills through the roof. He needs constant feeding. Still, I think as I put the finishing touches on my masterpiece, we do have a reason to celebrate.

"Why don't we go out? We can celebrate the fact that you are officially a registered person- complete with convenient back story and social security number. And your name is still Steve." I tell him.

"You did it?" He asks and I know instantly that he didn't know that I would be able to do it.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you doubted my ability to deliver and I am still going to buy you dinner Steve Monterey" I tell him.

"Like the cheese?" He asks incredulous.

"Oh crap! It's the first thing that came into my head that started with an 'M'" I laugh.

"I guess I'll get used to it. How about we order in? I am way too tired to deal with the world" He says.

"No problem", I reply easily.

In truth, I am worried about him. He doesn't leave the apartment unless we're flying and he hasn't had any interaction with anyone but me.

"Please learn to think quieter" He groans.

"Sorry" I apologise sheepishly, "But seriously Steve, I saw this thing on campus. It's a Braille class. They are doing it to promote Braille literacy among Blind youth. That could be good- learn to read Braille and meet some people?" I suggest.

"I'll think about it" He grunts moving to turn on the TV. We've been watching movies a lot. Especially the ones Steve has already seen. I know better than to push him.

Half an hour later I am in my pyjamas next to him on the couch finishing off my green curry and trying not to stare at Steve devouring his pad thai.

"So who is the guy in feminist discourse?" He teases waggling his eyebrows.

I am about to ask how he knows about that but instead I sigh.

"When he said Hi to you in class the other day I could feel your excitement all the way from over here"

"We should really think of some rules" I say to myself.

We are both thinking of the same situation, what if one of us brings someone home?

It's a good sign that Steve is thinking about girls so I try a different tact.

"You could meet some girls on campus. If you learn braille you could take some classes next semester?" I suggest.

"And how would we pay for that?" He grumbles sarcastically.

"We just would. I could get a job? Look this isn't a perfect situation Mr. Monterey but you are here. You should get on with it"

I can feel the frustration in him about to bubble over.

"Just say it" I say resignedly.

"Aren't you even a little bit curious about why that is? I came back to life! Do you hear how insane that sounds? Why aren't you freaked out by this? Why did this happen?" He screams at me.

"I don't know. I have been looking. I can't just google "shiny rock alien resurrection" and come up with answers" I say apologetically.

"We didn't even try to figure it out. We just messed around with stuff in our town" His voice is tinged with regret.

"We're going to figure this out. I don't know how or when but I promise we will. But in the meantime- you are here. You need to try and be here" I reply.

"I am trying" He sighs.

"No you aren't. I hacked your school records. Steve Montgomery wasn't the kind of guy to just half ass things. You have to really try" I pick up our plates and head to the kitchen to wash them.

We don't speak for the rest of the day and I can hear him calling out for Matt. This time I don't tune out instead I join him. Willing Matt to answer and I can tell what has been bothering him all this time- he is there. I can feel him, he can hear us and the d-bag is just choosing not to answer. I smile to myself as I realize that he doesn't know what I can do. I clear my mind and relax into bed before completely tuning into him. I have only done it once so I have to really focus. Suddenly I am connected. He is drinking a bowl of soup in a noisy market. I cannot really focus on the specifics of his surroundings but I need to do something as impactful as possible. His hands reach for the bowl to take another sip. I spill the hot liquid down his shirt and send the bowl flying across the floor. His shock shakes loose our connection. I feel something warm trickle down my nose and head to the bathroom to get a cloth to staunch the nose bleed. Even as the cloth is saturated with my warm sticky blood and I begin to feel lightheaded I am still smiling. Worth it.

I have a class that I haven't done the reading for yet so I get up fairly early and head to the kitchen for breakfast. I am in the middle of buttering my toast when Steve walks out of the second bedroom fully dressed.

"Hey. I was thinking we should go try to sign up for a rehab" He says shyly.

"Sure" I mentally cancel my class. It's just a lecture; I can still attend the tutorial later in the week.

"You don't have to cancel your class" He sighs.

"I want to. This is more important. Do you want some breakfast? I'm having toast"

"How did you do that last night?" He asks finding the table that we occasionally eat at and taking a seat.

"I don't know I can just do it" I answer putting in some toast for him.

"He spoke back last night"

"Yeah? What did he say?"

"Cussed you out for spilling soup on him and then went silent again. At least it is something" He smiles when I slide over my toast so he can eat it while it's warm. I can get the next batch.

"It's a start" he shrugs as he digs in to the toast.

Four and a half hours later we are standing outside yet another government office and my enthusiasm for project Steve Monterey has begun to wane. We had to get a medical report confirming what we already knew; that he was blind. The over-worked doctor said he could fit us in later in the month for scans but since we needed the report for state assistance for re-hab he would just come up with an explanation. Steve responded to all the questions charmingly and easily while I stood there, thought nervous thoughts about the penalty for identity fraud and kicked myself for us not rehearsing answers earlier. I cannot believe that we could just present a blind guy and no one would ask any questions at all about how he was blinded. Moronic oversight on my part.

Where I am panicked and jittery Steve is calm and purposeful. The lady we just saw, Janine, calls us back into her office.

"Okay so I am going to give Aisha your schedule for your occupational therapy, braille classes and mobility classes. I tried to get you the most rigorous schedule since you said you wanted to finish as soon as possible but if any of it proves to be too much you can cut down" She explains as she hands me the schedule.

Steve says thank you and smiles and Janine swoons. She is young and eager to help which is good for us but I am pretty sure she is going to get conned, realize it and freak out.

We are conning her- Steve's thought jumps into my head.

We won't get caught- I reassure him immediately. I almost instantly consider all the ways we could get caught. I hope he didn't catch that. I look at his knowing smirk. He caught that.

I missed something Janine said to us.

"Sorry?" I turn to her and smile apologetically.

"I was just telling your cousin that he should look into some assistance programs that exist for disabled college kids when he is ready" She smiles at Steve encouragingly and her eyes shimmer with wonder at his courage.

"Definitely. He's smart so once he is finished at rehab we can come back and talk about it" I tell her.

This, mercifully, marks the end of our long morning. Steve can start tomorrow thanks to Janine's eagerness to please. We step outside and I take a deep breath.

"How about some lunch?" Steve asks.

I turn to him with an eyebrow raised before deciding not to raise the fact that for nearly a month he has been a housebound agoraphobic. His face is still turned to me expectantly so he didn't get that. I am getting the hang of thinking quietly.

"Welcome to the world. What do you want to eat?" I ask.

"Burgers" He is certain and his eyes wide with childlike anticipation. And burgers it is.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's a long chapter! I hope you enjoy it- I enjoyed writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think...**

Four months later and we have fallen into a routine. Steve isn't a terrible roommate (in fact, he is remarkably easy to be around and is a lot of fun) and we have both become more effective at shielding our thoughts from each other which makes living together far less awkward. He excelled in his 6 week rehab and was now taking bridging classes at the University. I am sitting at my desk re-reading an email I had received before my classes for the day started. I had reached out to and interviewed half a dozen scientists who had theories on the superpower kids on the news. This basically meant that I had wasted a lot of time hanging out with crackpots. I suspected that any scientist worth their salt working on a theory was already employed by the government and therefore beyond my reach. Trying to contact Matt had proved equally fruitless. Every once in a while I can make him smack himself in the face or fall down and while that has been entertaining for Steve and I; we aren't any closer to getting him to talk. All in all I am beyond frustrated with how little we know compared to when we first met. In a strange and stark contrast to when we first met Steve seems really relaxed. He has a bunch of friends at school because he is so outgoing and confident.

The message seems promising. He is an Astronomer specializing in Meteors which makes sense to me given the whole shiny rock origins story. I am pondering what to write back to figure out how to get some more information out of him when I hear the door open.

"Aisha?" I hear Steve call out from the hallway.

"Hey!" I call out from my room.

I smile when he pops his head into my door.

"What are you up to?" He asks moving over to my bed and flopping down. He moves in our apartment relatively easily.

"Trying to figure out how to email this scientist without giving us away" I reply easily mirroring his relaxed pose by stretching and leaning back into my chair.

"Easy. 'I woke up with telekinetic superpowers. Please advise'" He jokes in an eerily accurate impersonation of my voice.

I laugh. "How was class today?" I ask.

"Good. Can't wait to start for real though"

I am just about to form the words to ask him if he wants to go see a band that a friend of mine from Psych class is playing in later when he goes absolutely stiff.

What follows is the most terrifying ten minutes of my life. I check that he is breathing (he is, thank God), I check that his heart rate is normal (it seems to be), I call his name (no response). I pick up my cell phone and call an ambulance. Six excruciating minutes later the paramedics are at our door. I yell at that it is open; unwilling to leave Steve alone.

"How long has he been like this?" The paramedic asks.

"Six minutes," I answer shakily. Each minute felt like an eternity.

In the time it took me to answer her question she has finished her preliminary examination.

"He's having a seizure. We need to take him in" She nods to her colleague and they start to load him on to the gurney.

I nod and swallow to find my voice. "I'm his cousin. Can I come with you?" I ask.

She looks at me and the kindness in her eyes makes me realize how terrified I must sound.

"Of course" She says business like.

I quickly pull on some shoes and a jacket and remember to lock the apartment behind me. Once we are in the ambulance and the siren starts I notice that I have a searing headache. I wince and the catch a glimpse of Steve's rigid body on the gurney. I need to focus on my friend right now.

"Here" the paramedic says as she hands me a clipboard "You can get a start filling out his medical history."

"Right" I nod. Shit. I take a deep breath and hope I can keep all the lies straight.

I have been sitting in the waiting room for 192 minutes. I have worried that I didn't turn the stove off. And that I left the iron on. I have worried that Steve is deathly allergic to some medicine that they are pumping his veins full of as we speak. I have worried that the police are on their way right now to arrest us. I have worried myself into a frenzy and then worried myself exhausted.

I look up when a nurse walks in. I worry about whether she is coming to tell me Steve is dead. Do nurses inform families? On TV its only doctors who do that.

"Aisha? Your cousin is awake and asking for you" She informs me.

I nearly faint with relief.

I am numb as I follow her into the patient room. Steve's social worker had signed him up for a lot of benefits he was entitled to as a disabled student without parental support. Not enough insurance for a private room though. I observe that his roommate is sleeping deeply and soundlessly. Good. We can talk.

"He's in a coma" Steve says.

"Welcome back" I say approaching his bedside. I try to make my voice as nonchalant as possible.

"The sound of your worrying woke me up. How would you leave the iron on? We were in your room," He jokes with his usual confident smile on his face. But his voice sounds weak and I grab his hand and squeeze it. He smiles and squeezes it back.

"Have the doctors said anything?" I ask as I sit.

"Keeping me for observation. I know what it was though" His voice is suddenly serious and this makes my blood run cold.

"What?" I ask automatically even though I am fairly certain I won't like the answer.

"It was Andrew."

* * *

><p>I had pumped him for information for hours after that. Question after question. Most of them he could answer; except for the most important one. After a while I can tell that he is exhausted by my endless questions and poorly disguised worry. Sensing that he is at his breaking point I agree to go home and get some rest promising to return the next morning with his cane, some fresh clothes and coffee.<p>

The night passes quickly and at 6am I am double checking that I have everything before heading out of the flat. It's a Saturday and although I have gotten a lot more comfortable with missing classes I am glad that I don't have to. It takes two buses, 1 chapter of my Gender and Society textbook and an hour to get to the hospital. I pick up a couple of coffees and some bagels at a nearby coffee shop and head inside. I am near Steve's ward when I spot a boy arguing with a nurse.

"I'm one of his friends. He would want to see me" He insists to the nurse.

Suddenly I recognize him.

"Matt?" I ask as I walk up toward him. **I'm Aisha Steve's cousin** I warn him.

"Good to see you again Aisha" He lies smoothly.

With me vouching for him the nurse lets us in. A million questions race through my mind but I think Steve should take the lead on how to handle this one. He follows me to the room in awkward silence. I telegraph ahead to Steve that we are coming. The last thing he needs is to die of a heart attack or have another seizure.

"Good idea" Matt says from behind me.

I'm not sure how to respond so I just smile a terse little smile. The corridor seems to be going on forever so I add;

"Steve will be happy to see you" and throw on another awkward little smile.

I am relieved when we finally get to the room. Matt isn't though; he stands in the corner of the room his expression somewhere between terror and nausea. His options are throw up or run away and he seems to be seriously considering both of them.

"Hey Steve. Matt's here" I approach the bed and press his coffee into his hand. He reaches up and feels for the opening before taking a sip. He sighs gratefully.

Matt watches him for a while from the corner of the room. I can tell he is working through a lot. His eyes fill with tears and I feel a rush of sympathy for him.

"Here" I say handing him my coffee "Sit down. I brought bagels as well."

He approaches the bed cautiously. He still hasn't said a word to Steve.

We sit in awkward silence for a while longer. The boys manage to eat a bagel each. I can only choke down a few bites since I don't have anything to wash it down with. The silence is heavy and I feel like I have to swim to the plastic jug and tumblers by Steve's bedside to poor myself a glass of water.

"I'm blind. You didn't go mute did you?" Steve asks. His voice sounds harsh after such intense quiet.

Matt shakes his head and then clears his throat nervously to speak when he realizes that Steve can't see him.

"No" Matt says his voice small and his tone uncertain.

"Just deaf?" Steve asks unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he thinks about how Matt didn't come to his rescue.

I watch Matt squirm in his seat for a bit before answering.

"I didn't think it was real. I thought I was imagining. I went to your funeral." His despair colours every word. Suddenly Matt is out of his seat and pulling Steve into a hug. "I am so sorry man. I thought you were dead" He explains as he hugs him, tears are streaming down Matt's face.

Steve is stiff initially but he eventually settles into the hug. I can feel how much they have missed each other and how happy they are to be together. I, however, am not satisfied by Matt's response.

"What about the six months since he has been out?" I ask and I know from the way his expression shadows that he knows what I am talking about. The messages that Steve had been sending since I found him were much clearer much more distinctly Steve than before.

"I knew you were safe. I was following up a lead" He says.

"On what happened to us?" Steve asks excitedly sitting up and shifting on the bed shifting his table tray thing slightly.

"Yeah. I was following up with a geneticist" He explains.

"Did he find anything?" I ask.

"No we're still human. Whatever happened it didn't affect our genetic code" He replies.

"And if he had found something? How did you know whether to trust him? Everyone knows. Everyone is looking for you. Everyone knows. You could have put us all in danger.." I explain trying to keep my voice calm.

"Us all?" Matt scoffs "There is no 'us'" He adds angrily.

"If there are three of us it stands to reason there are more. Now that everyone knows what we can do we need to be careful. There was a shower a few months before we found the rocks. NASA wrote it off as an ordinary shower and there was no damage reported from the crash sites but I found a paper by an Astronomer who thinks that there was something unique about those rocks. He has a proposal in to study them" I explain choosing to ignore his answer.

Matt is silent while he is mulling over what I can say. I cannot help but take a peek in his thoughts and smirk when I see how angry he is that he didn't think about that angle.

"Hey! Are you ready to go home?" A tired looking intern comes in to discharge Steve.

"Definitely" He smiles at her. Well, close enough at her.

The conversation is closed for a while. There are forms to fill, prescriptions to pick up and follow up appointments to book.

"Just get in the chair you baby!" I say exasperatedly rolling my eyes at the orderly standing by the bed with the wheelchair.

"No way. I can walk." Steve insists.

"No one doubts that but it is hospital policy. If it makes you feel better you get to prove just how manly you are on the way back home. It's 2 buses and like an hour" I tease him.

"I can give you a ride. I have a car" Matt offers silently.

"Thanks Matt" I turn to Steve "So get in the chair so we can go. Or would you rather spend another night here?" I threaten.

Finally he acquiesces and we head out. I can sense both his and Matt's discomfort when the orderly leaves. Boys. I tap the back of Steve's hand to signal my willingness to lead. He grabs my elbow but still has his cane out.

Matt opens the door and awkwardly gestures for Steve to enter. Steve reaches out and feels for the door and assesses the height of the door and whether the seat is clear before entering the car. Matt looks like he might burst into tears again.

"He's blind. That's how he gets into cars now" I deadpan and manage a subtle eye roll before heading for the front seat.

"Andrew" Matt starts uncomfortably after we have been driving for a few minutes.

"I know" Steve sighs. They both seem to consider the conversation closed.

"How does he seem?" I'm assuming Andrew is the reason for my headache but, like Steve at the beginning, his thoughts and emotions are too all over the place to get a read on.

"Pissed off. As usual" Matt sounds angry, defensive and exhausted.

"Scared" Steve observes.

"Understandable, right?" I add looking to Steve for confirmation.

Steve nods. He gets a faraway look that he gets sometimes. He is surprisingly well adjusted for someone who was killed by his friend and came back from the dead. If it had happened to me I would have to be sedated.

"You can help us find him" Matt says looking at me in the rear view mirror.

"How?" I ask, genuinely puzzled.

"You are a stronger telepath than all of us. You found me" Matt says sounding oddly hopeful.

Steve raises his head slightly. I can tell he agrees. Except that I didn't find Matt and I am not that strong. But I can't find the words to disagree.

* * *

><p><strong>STEVE<strong>

Aisha doesn't say anything after Matt makes his suggestion. I can tell that she is shielding like crazy. I've never really been the kind of guy to panic or to think very much about fate and things like that. I didn't torture myself with thoughts about why this happened or what it all meant. Not like Andrew and Matt. I just figured I'd continue living the best life I could. And if my powers let me have a little more fun I would just enjoy it while I could. The night that I went to find Andrew I couldn't feel anything except his pain. Sure, he was angry but under it was something I was grateful that I couldn't understand. He was raw; like a wounded animal on the Discovery Channel. What happened next shouldn't have surprised me but it did. I never thought that Andrew would hurt me. I trusted him. What a stupid thought to have running through your mind in the last moment of your life; surprise. Not anguish or understanding or peace or regret I was genuinely shocked. And then I was nothing for a really long time. And now I was back. And so was Andrew.

I rub my temple trying to dislodge my headache. I was actually getting used to the idea of carrying on with my life. My new life. The past few weeks I had given up looking for Matt. I could feel Aisha's search ramping up but I just needed to figure out boring stuff; how to make breakfast, how to orient myself in a new place, how to get dressed, how to shave.

Matt killed Andrew. Andrew killed me. I guess it means something that Andrew called to me the loudest. He was always too strong for his own good. I decide to try to talk to him.

I take a deep breath and clear my mind.

**"Andrew?**" I ask unsure of how to start.

There is nothing for a while.

**"So you came back to life. Been there man"** I quip easily.

I get back something like a laugh.

"**Talk to me man. Just go slow, okay? Your version of hello made me have a seizure**" I joke again.

I get back something like '**sorry**'. Not 'sorry' exactly. More like I feel the sharpness of his regret.

**"It's okay.**" I say shutting my eyes and leaning back on the scratchy car seat.

**"No it isn't"** And damn, I am happy to hear from him. Screw the complications; these guys are my best friends and the only part of my old life I am allowed to keep.

**"Who is that?**" Andrew asks. For a while I am confused until I realize that Aisha is helping us…somehow.

**"I'm Aisha"** She introduces herself simply.

**"She's cool"** I vouch for her like she has just stepped into a room where we are smoking a joint. I wonder what she was like in high school?

"**Matt is with you**" Andrew observes.

"**Can you come? Are you trapped somewhere? We could come get you?**" Aisha suggests.

Andrew scoffs at the idea of needing our help. Not a great sign.

"**26 Birch Street Apartment 2B, Seattle**" Aisha telegraphs.

I send out that he is welcome. That he is missed. That the past doesn't really matter, we can figure it out.

And then he is gone.

And I open my eyes and there is that nothingness that I am still getting used to. And I have no idea where I am.

"We're at home. I asked Matt to park the car while you were….out of it" Aisha explains.

"What were you doing?" I ask.

"He's too unstable. I had to protect you this time"

"Thanks"

"Anytime"

I open the car door and step out pausing for a moment to unfold my cane and orient myself. Aisha offers her elbow as guide and I swallow my pride and take it. I wonder if it will ever be natural to need help to find the front door if I don't know exactly where the car is. She leaves me alone when we get to the apartment and I am grateful. I head into my room and lie silently on the bed for a few minutes before deciding to take a shower, tackle some of my homework and maybe go out flying later.

* * *

><p>I am pulling on a fresh shirt when I hear yelling from the living room. I head out without my cane and trip over something in the doorway that leads to the living room. I bend over and touch a pile of books.<p>

"Stay there Steve. The place is a mess" Aisha calls to me "Matt you have to calm down" She says to Matt.

I rush into my room and grab my cane before heading back out.

"What's going on?"

"She told him where we are!" Matt yells indignant. Something shatters to my right.

"Calm down Matt" My heart is beating faster and I am taken back to the last time one of us got out of control angry. I force myself to take a deep breath. Get your shit together Steve I tell myself.

"You don't know what he was like! I had to do what I did!" Matt is standing right beside me and he grabs my shoulder. His tone is desperate and cloying in a way I have to force myself not to recoil from.

"I know" I say calmly "I understand".

"He hates me. I would hate me" Matt moves away. I'm not sure where to.

"We don't even know if he's coming" I say.

"We'll figure it out when he does. You'll stick around?" I am startled by Aisha's voice which comes from an unexpected corner. She is clearing something up by the door.

Matt doesn't answer but Aisha makes a pleased sound so I assume that Matt nodded. I can feel him staring at me.

"What?" I ask.

"It's really good to see you man" Matt says. I can hear the smile in his voice. I smile back.

"Yeah you too. Well, good to hear you" I joke lamely.

"You don't mind the sofa do you?" Aisha asks.

"No. The sofa's great actually" Matt says warmly.

"Cool. Why don't I clean up here a little and you guys could go pick up some lunch?" She offers.

I can tell she wants to give us some time alone.

"Sure. Where?" Matt asks.

"There's this place that has pretty good pizza. Steve will show you" She says. I hear her get up and head into the kitchen.

"Should we go?" Matt asks awkwardly.

"Yeah" I say trying not to sigh "Let me go grab a jacket".

I take an extra moment in my room reminding myself to be patient with Matt. He found out about my disability today. It's still new to him. I should be patient. I head to the door.

"Hey man. I'm holding it open for you" Matt informs me awkwardly.

"Thanks," I sigh as I head outside.

I lose him for a second.

"Matt?"

"I'm here."

"Let me take your elbow. I can keep track of you that way" I say.

He stands next to me and I find his elbow.

"Okay it is four blocks down that way" I gesture in front of me.

Matt doesn't say anything but he starts walking ahead of me so I follow.

He sighs.

"How are you so cool about all this?" He finally asks.

"I guess I have to be." I pause for a second trying to think of something to add.

"This is all so wrong" Matt says.

I almost laugh. I mean, what am I supposed to say in response? I can tell Matt wants me to make him feel better.

"I'm alive at least. So is Andrew. Maybe he's less angry" I offer.

"Because your Mum dying and being burned alive and getting killed by your cousin usually mellows a guy out?"

I smile at Matt's sarcasm even though it isn't really funny. We walk in silence for one more block.

"Your room mate is pretty hot" Matt observes casually "Are you guys just roommates or are you more than that?"

"Why?" I ask bemused "Do you want to get in there?"

"I mean, I wouldn't mind. Seriously, it has been forever!"

I laugh.

"Why is that funny? You don't think she would be into it?" Matt asks.

"I don't know man. You have been kind of a jerk to her since you got here" I note. We're at a cross walk so I wait for Matt to take the lead.

"Yeah well. My charm is a little bit rusty. Being on the lam will do that to you" Matt says bitterly.

I grunt in agreement. Being buried hasn't done that much for my love life.

We get the pizza and head back to the apartment. Matt is less awkward around me and by the time we get back we are joking with each other and it feels like the good old days. I am so happy being back with him it takes a while to register the way his laughter dies as soon as we walk into the door and his elbow tenses.

"Matt?" I ask.

"Andrew's here" Aisha answers wearily. I wonder if she was ready for all my friends to barge into her apartment and break her stuff when she came to find me. How will I ever thank her?

Uh…okay. For a while no one says anything but I can picture the scene. Andrew is staring at me dramatically, Matt is staring at Andrew and Aisha's face must be strained since I can feel her working overtime to keep everyone calm. It's actually pretty funny. I cannot restrain the laughter.

"You guys realize I can't really participate in the joined broody silent staring anymore? It just kind of feels like everyone suddenly left the room? Andrew, where are you, man?"

I feel someone stand up somewhere to the left of me where I know the sofa is. I take a few tentative steps assuming it is Andrew. I reach out and find his arm before pulling him in for a hug. He is the same weight and height as before as far as I can tell but the skin on his arms is oddly slick. I make a mental note to ask him about it later.

"Steve I" I can hear the tears in his voice.

"It's forgotten man. I forgive you" I say hoping he can tell how much I mean it.

"How can you forgive me for that?" He asks his voice rough with anger.

"I just can" I answer.

"Hey Andrew" Matt says awkwardly from the corner of the room.

"Hey Matt" Andrew says quietly.

"I'm sorry" Matt says simply.

"I understand why you did it" Andrew replies.

I'm not the only one who notices that it isn't quite the same as forgiveness.

"Aisha you can back off. I promise I won't freak out" Andrew says quietly.

"Okay" Aisha agrees wearily.

I don't know how to explain what it feels like when she stops. It's like when you have spent the whole day in a basement and you are thrust into a bright summer day- only with emotions. Everything is amplified and for a second it actually physically hurts. I resist the urge to burst into tears.

"How do you do that?" Andrew asks in awe his voice breaking on the first word. Clearly I wasn't the only one affected.

"I'll explain some other time. Why don't we eat?" She suggests.

And we do. At the kitchen table with the same intense staring. I can always tell when people are staring at me but not being able to confirm it makes me really uncomfortable and paranoid.

"What were you doing that got you so worked up yesterday? You nearly killed Steve. Again" Aisha asks.

The silence is heavy.

"Is it too soon to joke about that?" Aisha asks.

I laugh. Andrew makes a sound that is somewhere between a cough and a gasp. It's a start.

"I went to see my Dad" Andrew says in that cold deadpan way of his that has always chilled me.

"What did you do Andrew?" Matt's voice is panicked.

Silence. I force myself to swallow the pizza in my mouth and reach out for my drink to wash it down. I knock it over in my rush. There is no crash. Aisha mumbles that it is okay probably because she can see my confused expression. I hear a soft clink as she sends the glass to the sink. I am still feeling the surface of the table wondering where the coke inside went. I am so puzzled that I almost don't hear what Andrew says.

"I killed him Matt. I had to."


	5. Chapter 5

"Steve!" A voice yells.

I nearly choke on my spit as I jerk awake. I was never great at waking up but being yelled at in the middle of the night nearly gives me a heart attack.

Matt's hands are on my shoulders as I try to calm myself down.

"Sorry man. I've been standing here trying to wake you for a while. You sleep like the dead" He notes.

"I've had practice. Is there a reason you needed to scare the crap out of me at…" I reach over and press the button on my talking clock the robotic voice intones that it is 3am.

"3am?" I finish.

"I want to talk about Andrew" Matt says.

"No"

"Steve.."

"No way, man. We need to stick together now. If there is something you need to say about Andrew you can say it to Andrew or not at all" I say determinedly as I sink back down into my bed.

"Say what to Andrew?" Comes Andrew's voice from the doorway

"I literally just got out of the hospital. Can we do this tomorrow?" I ask hopefully.

"What did you want to say Matt?" Andrew asks his voice deepening.

I guess we're doing this now.

"Let's get out of the apartment" I suggest as I get out of bed and pull on a pair of pants. We don't need to wake up Aisha.

Matt drives us around for a bit until he finds a Diner that is open. Andrew leads me in. He is already so much more comfortable with this than Matt. People are staring but for once I get the impression that they aren't staring at me. Andrew senses my confusion.

"There was a fire. I'm definitely not invisible anymore" He jokes wryly. I can tell that the stares are getting to him.

"You look the same to me" I say wondering if it is the right thing to say.

Andrew laughs. Matt says nothing. We find a table and Andrew places my hand on the back of a booth. I fold up my cane and slide in. Andrew and Matt order coffee. I order tea.

"Tea?" Andrew scoffs.

"I don't want to be up all night. You two idiots wanted to talk. So talk" I insist.

"Andrew I know what your dad is….was like" Matt begins.

"No you don't Matt" Andrew replies calmly "And part of that is my fault, Steve asked a few times and I should have just told him what was going on. You're my cousin and we've known each other our whole lives but you have no idea 'what my Dad' was like. What it was like to live in that house? To get beat up and yelled at every day. To watch my Mum die and my Dad drink himself to death? To get the same crap at school? You have no idea" Andrew finishes calmly.

Matt is silent.

"I knew. I figured you wouldn't leave your Mum. That all we had to do was get through senior year and we would all get out of there and see the world. I thought we would make it" I say.

"You didn't have to kill him" Matt says.

"I didn't mean to" Andrew insists calmly.

"You never do!" Matt cries banging his fist on the table.

I can hear the diner react to his outburst. Suddenly it doesn't seem that smart to have left Aisha at the apartment.

"That _thing_, your anger just became a part of you. I asked you to stop and you just gave in. And now I am just supposed to believe that everything is okay again?"

"Steve can" Andrew says

"Steve wasn't there that night" Matt yells.

"I didn't do that on purpose" Andrew says. For the first time he raises his voice slightly.

"I don't trust you, Andrew" Matt says.

There it is. Suddenly there is nothing left to say. We finish our coffee in silence and head back.

* * *

><p>Aisha and I are heading to the library the next afternoon. Matt had left earlier saying he needed to ditch the car and Andrew was catching up on videos on youtube.<p>

"Are you going to tell me about last night? It's sweet that you left so you wouldn't wake me but you all…" Aisha starts

"Think and feel really loudly?" I smile.

She is silent for a beat which is odd. Then she clears her throat and I can tell she is trying to sound normal. I fight back the frustration at not being able to read her expression.

"Yeah. Matt's right you know- Andrew is trying but you should be careful" She trails off.

"What was that? That pause just then?" I ask her.

"I was just. I just noticed you have a really nice smile. So.." She finishes really awkwardly which, of course, makes me smile even wider. Smirk, even.

She punches my arm lightly and calls me a jerk when she notices my reaction. The moment passes.

We spend some time at the library. I'm figuring out braille. My instructor says the key is to practice and I agree with him, mostly because I do not want to continue to be a 19 year old who can't read. I am in the middle of trying to remember what our English teacher told us about the significance of the eyes in the Great Gatsby when I hear Aisha approach.

"What's going on?" I ask her.

"We need to get out of here" She whispers as she approaches.

I start to gather up my things and, to her credit, she doesn't grab me or rush me but when I eventually find her elbow I can feel her rush. I try to keep up with her.

"We need to take off we need to get home fast" She explains as she leads us…..somewhere. I assume it's an alley. It smells kind of terrible. We fly and we get home much faster.

"What's going on?" Matt asks when we barge in.

"Someone is looking for Andrew I don't know if it is the police or the military but he is listed as a high priority fugitive" Aisha says breathlessly.

"Where is Andrew?" I ask.

"He didn't say where he was going but he said he would be back. He said he needed to clear his head" Matt explains. I can hear the undertone of concern in his voice.

"Wait, how do you know?" I ask.

"Ever since what happened with Matt and Andrew I've been keeping an eye out for any government stuff that could affect us" Aisha explains.

"You've been tracking the government?" Matt asks incredulous.

"I take precautions. It's nothing illegal" She pauses before adding "It's nothing illegal that could be traced to us."

"That's great. Identity theft, Hacking and grave robbing" I can tell that Matt rubs his hands across his face.

He approaches me and grabs my arm to pull me aside. I hate that. My body instantly stiffens.

"Look" Matt says and I can smell coffee on his breath "Things like this put us all in danger. We should go before she gets busted and brings us all down with her."

"What we need to do is find Andrew" I answer calmly. I can already tell that Aisha is trying to get in contact with him. We sit in silence waiting to figure out the next move.

"They've already got him" She says in a strangled voice.

"Where?" I ask.

"He doesn't know and it looks like they've drugged him. He's gone silent" She explains.

"We have to go get him." I voice my thoughts.

"Great. A blind guy, a girl and me against the US government. All we are going to do is get ourselves exposed and captured. You cannot see this Steve but this is crazy. She is like sitting on the couch trying to brain talk to a guy who came back from the dead looking like a monster from a 60s movie. It is nuts" Matt warns.

"It's Andrew" I say calmly. He's right it's a suicide mission and I am not sure how we are going to do it but I have to try.

"It is Andrew. Andrew the 'apex predator'. They are still rebuilding the hospital that he took out. People died that day. He's the reason you can't see. Have you ever thought of that?"

"We risk exposure anyway. Andrew knows Steve is alive, He knows you are in the States and he knows about me. They'll have access to his DNA and God knows what they'll do to him or ask him. We have to go" Aisha confirms.

Her pragmatic reasoning upsets me at first but I realize that she is trying a different tact to convince Matt.

"I'll just get out of here before they can find me. Steve, you should come with me. It isn't safe here anymore" He says earnestly leaning into me.

"I can't leave Andrew and besides, a blind guy would probably just slow you down" I say bitterly.

* * *

><p>"Anyone who could have seen anything?" I ask hopefully even though I can tell that this place is completely deserted. Andrew still wasn't there and we were to jittery to sit in the flat. The tension between Matt and I was palpable. So we came to where Andrew was when he was picked up.<p>

"No. He must have been landing. He picked somewhere with nobody around" Her voice seems further away.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm just checking to see if he dropped something. I don't know. Like a clue?" She finishes desperately.

I stand silently for a while to let her look around. I hear her disappointed sigh. Another dead end.

"They were probably tracking him" I say as we sit on the grass. Her head is against my shoulder and we are just sitting there. Neither of us particularly wants to go home. I try to ignore the tightening in my chest every time she shifts slightly and I catch a whiff of her perfume.

"That makes sense. It also means they know where we are. Maybe Matt is right?"

"You want to split up?" I ask.

"No way" I'm pleased she answered so quickly and sounded so certain "Maybe there's nothing we can do to save Andrew. Maybe we get out of here and save ourselves?" She suggests.

"I don't know what to do. I hate feeling so powerless" I sigh.

Aisha turns and puts her arms around me. She hugs me for a long time and my body warms under hers.

"You are so far from being powerless. You still don't get it do you?" She asks with wonder in her voice.

I am slightly distracted by how her breasts feel pushed into my chest so I just grunt. I childishly want to reach out and grab her when she pulls away. She puts her arms on my shoulders to get my attention.

"You are the link between all of us. Before we met I couldn't feel anyone else but now I can just tell that there are so many of us out there. I can feel them. Because of you. You are stronger than all of us. Maybe it's time to stop being scared of that?" She says sincerely.

"What and become the new apex predator?" I ask jokingly.

"We are already what we are" She says.

"What does that mean?"

"This thing changed our ability but it didn't change us. Andrew was a hurt, angry and dangerous kid before all this happened. His dad was an abusive shit and his son paid the price. You aren't Andrew. Can I try something with you?"

"Sure" I agree trying to take in all the things she said.

She tugs at my arm to get me to stand up. She leads me to a spot a few paces from where we were sitting.

"Where are you going?" I ask as she starts to walk away.

"You'll see" I can hear the smile in her voice.

So I wait. I never used to be this patient but I am trying to get used to the fact that sometimes it will take slightly longer for me to figure things out.

"Okay, clear your mind" Aisha shouts from a distance. I can tell that she is standing directly in front of me.

This part is not easy especially since I am hoping that whatever she is doing it ends with us having sex. Focus pervert I warn myself. I take a deep breath.

"Hey" her voice is as clear as if she was standing right next to me. It is incredibly intimate and not something we use very much.

"Okay" She instructs "Now you know how I feel. This time you come to me."

I know what she means but I have never initiated the connection before. Just like when I figured out how to fly you just kind of have to know you can do it and figure it out instinctively from there. It takes a few tries but I make the link.

"Hey" I greet her. I feel her joy. It makes me smile.

"Okay now that we are linked just tune into what I am seeing"

This takes a bit longer but when I figure it out it's like a TV being turned on suddenly in a pitch black room. The explosion of colour nearly knocks me off my feet. So weird. I am looking at myself standing across the field.

"It took me ages to be able to do that. Amazing" She compliments me "But this isn't what I want to try"

"It isn't?"

"Nope"

She hurls a stick at my face. The only way to describe what it was like is to slow it down. First I felt her intention. Then I reacted by putting a barrier around my body. Then I watched the stick speed toward my body from Aisha's perspective. Then, because this whole thing was even more strange, difficult and overwhelming than coming back to life,the connection is broken just as suddenly as it was formed.

The darkness is so complete after seeing I can't breath after a second I can tune into Aisha's words.

"Shit. Steve? Steve?" She is rubbing my shoulder lightly.

"You threw a stick at me" I note petulantly.

I bend over and grope around looking for my cane before remembering it is in my back pocket.

"I saw you throw it" My voice breaks. I shake my head annoyed at myself.

"Take it easy" She says gently. Her hands cup the sides of my face gently.

"How did you know I could do that?" I ask.

"I just did. Matt is far too closed off and Andrew is strong but consumed by himself. I just knew" She says with absolute confidence.

I have never been a shy guy so when an amazing woman is standing this close to me I just have to go for it. I touch the side of her face; just to be sure of placement and then I kiss her. She kisses back. We break apart after a while.

"That was.." She starts before trailing off.

"Awesome?" I suggest cockily.

"Yeah" She smiles "and unexpected." She takes my hand, "Maybe we should just stick a pin in this for a little while. Until we figure out how to get Andrew back and whether the government is after us."

I pull her in for another kiss. I can feel the way her skin flushes and her whole body responds to mine.

"Okay" I agree easily.

We head back to the apartment in silence. Matt is there but he isn't speaking to anyone. Aisha and I have dinner and both head off to bed. We hug before we go into our separate rooms. She initiates it and we linger far longer than is appropriate.

* * *

><p>It's 5 am when Andrew wakes up. Aisha rushes into my room.<p>

"He won't tell me where he is. I think he's trying to protect us. You'd better talk to him" She says in a rush.

"Why don't you just go into his head and yank it out?" I ask yawning.

"Because I watched you have an Andrew induced seizure and it didn't seem that fun. I'll cover you"

It makes sense but that doesn't make me excited about the prospect of convincing Andrew to listen.

A part of me wants to wait a little before talking to Andrew so I can get some sleep but I have no idea what they are doing to him.

"Leave me alone, man" He says.

"We're coming to get you" I insist

"I'm not worth it. You've done too much already"

"Shut up and tell me where you are"

"No"

But he is tired and in pain and his defences are down. Now that I am in I can look around.

"I know where he is" I say to Aisha "And I know how we can get him"

I have just finished telling Aisha my plan. She sighs and leans back. I take her hand and squeeze. She squeezes back.

"What do you think?" I ask.

"It's pretty crazy, Steve."

Now that I am some sort of weird proto post dead telekinetic human thing you would think I would be able to concentrate fully on this life and death conversation. Instead I am thinking about her smell and how I can pick up a hint of her lotion underneath and how soft her hand is in mine. I start to rub her thumb with mine.

"We could die. They could capture us. We could wind up wherever Andrew is. And if by some infinitesimally small chance we survive and we succeed what will we do next? We'll have exposed ourselves. Where would we live? What would we do?"

She's right.

"I have no right to ask you. I hate that I can't do this on my own" I sigh.

She rubs my back comfortingly and rests her head on my shoulder.

"Of course you do. You have every right and I'm going to do it. I'm just scared." She admits.

I hold her and I don't tell her that I am too.


	6. Chapter 6

Waiting is the hardest part. Once I figured out the plan I was ready to throw on a shirt and go immediately but Aisha talked me out of it. She was right, of course. Our insane plan had a better chance of success if we were patient. So far they hadn't done anything to Andrew. They hadn't asked him any questions. They would just sedate him and watch him. We had been watching for three days. Even Andrew was getting impatient. He still wasn't on board with us going to get him but I could sense his begrudging respect for the plan. Aisha's research into how to strengthen our telepathic abilities had led to experimentation with meditation, cold showers, warm showers, noisy rooms and quiet rooms until we stumbled on to a combination of anti-anxiety medication and a quiet room. We start off small. First we have to figure out who the guards are – how their shifts work. For this we spend a lot of time in Andrew- he can't fight us off thanks to the sedatives and he seems grateful for the company most days. We just watch for a few days. Finally Aisha makes a connection with one of the guards when he is about to have a nap at the office. We needed to figure out if they would be able to sense our presence. So she just hangs out for a while- stays with him while he does his job, talks to his co-workers, searches for erotic fiction on the internet, emails an old girlfriend from high school. I join her the next day. A male guard is listening to a new CD and daydreaming which makes it easy for me to make the connection. He is fascinated by Andrew- which means, unlike Aisha, I have an opportunity to see how Andrew is doing. Andrew's burns shock me at first. The skin on his face is stretched taut and pink and the angry scars on his torso creep up his neck and are only partly hidden by his t-shirt. Top of my list of things to figure out is how we can come back from the dead but not heal completely. But it is still the Andrew I remember and there are hints of the face of my best friend in there. In his eyes- glazed over and hollow like he used to seem before we met that night. I had noticed him before. With his camera and his hunched over pose it was hard not to even though he was trying very hard to make himself invisible. He stared through people but was always shocked when anyone looked back. The night I met him I pretended not to notice that he had been crying, I pretended to introduce myself even though I already knew his name and knew that he knew mine. I wonder, not for the first or last time, how different things would have been if I had reached out to Andrew before the shiny rock incident. What if he had always had a friend? What If he had always had a safe place to go?

Later that day my guard gets home from work. I am watching an unfamiliar part of the city go by through his windshield. I can feel his fatigue, his hunger and his longing for the smell of his wife when she gets into bed and presses against him after her shower her hair still damp and asks him about his day her voice vaguely sleepy. I had forgotten the muted colours of dusk. That time after the streetlights have just been turned on when everything is soft. He gets home and is disappointed that his wife made meatloaf. He doesn't like it but he smiles and says thank you. He really loves her. He exhales when he enters the house and his whole day is worth it because he was doing it for her. They eat the meatloaf in front of the TV- watching two episodes of Arrested Development. It is pretty funny but I cannot help but think that television is a waste of perfectly good eyesight. They get into bed with the easy routine of two people who aren't afraid of silences anymore. She gets out of the shower and enters the bed, pressing against him and filling him with the smell of her shampoo and her still damp hair. She asks him about his day. He replies that he felt sorry for the poor kid- he looked like he had a hard life. She is surprised by this apparently just yesterday she expressed sympathy for him 'locked up like an animal with no rights' and he reminded her of the footage from Seattle. I can tell she isn't sure what changed his mind but she likes it- she leans in for a kiss and when I feel his body respond I slip out again.

Aisha and I are sitting at the kitchen table eating some ramen and exchanging notes. I tell her about the guards growing sympathy for Andrew. It is unsettling being back in your own body. Its part relief- you are returning from a journey but one you know you should have never been on. We are invaders.

"I noticed that too. My guy likes mayo- his sandwiches are like 90 percent mayo and I hate it and he told his girlfriend that it was so weird that he was beginning to be grossed out by it."

"You don't like mayo?" I ask.

"Ew. No. But I think it means that we leave traces of our thoughts in them so we have to be careful"

"It's promising for suggestion though" I muse.

"I guess. Want to try tomorrow?" She asks.

"We need something with tangible results" I say thinking out loud.

"We could make them walk to the bathroom when they don't need to go. Its innocuous enough and we'll know that it works."

"We could just force them."

"I mean sure but we don't know what that would do to them or to us. We should go slow."

I don't like it but she is right.

"Want to go for a walk? We've been drooling on ourselves all day." She reaches over to clear my bowl and I catch the scent of her shampoo. I do not want to think too much about how much this is related to my guard and his feelings for his wife but suddenly I don't want to wait. I reach out for her hand and by some miracle find it on the first try.

"I thought we were sticking a pin in it?" Her tone is amused, breathy and hopeful. Suddenly I am liking my chances. I aim a hopefully not-too cocky smile in her direction (or what I hope is close enough).

The door opens and I turn to face the sound automatically (and absurdly). It is Matt. I feel him enter.

"So this is happening now?" I can't be sure what he is gesturing at but I am betting it is Aisha's arm in my hand.

"I thought you left?" Aisha asks sounding weary.

"I did. I'm back."

"Why?" I ask genuinely mystified.

"You guys are the only ones who understand. After that night I travelled all over looking for answers. I've never felt more alone. Apparently that connection is worth throwing my life away on a suicide mission" He grumbles.

"It isn't a suicide mission" Aisha says defensively.

"It involves Andrew, doesn't it?" Matt retorts.

"That isn't fair" Aisha argues.

"You weren't there. You don't know" Matt says.

"I'm going for a walk. Do you want to come, Steve?" Aisha asks rapidly changing tact. I am guessing she is feeling too frayed and exhausted to really fight with him. That and she realize that she wasn't there and that this isn't her fight. Matt wants me to talk him into staying.

"I'll stay" I say.

I listen to her leave the apartment. I listen to Matt sit down on the couch. I can't tell which side of the couch he is on so I don't risk sitting on it with him. I perch against the bookshelf.

"It's so weird" He starts before trailing off.

"What is?" With our lives he is going to have to be more specific.

"You don't look at me anymore. Because you can't look at me anymore. It's just weird" He says.

"Yeah" I have to agree with him. It is pretty weird.

"I can try to fake it" I lift my head and face the direction his voice is coming from.

Matt bursts out laughing "That is weirder".

I laugh too.

"So what do you see?" He asks.

"Nothing. I can't see" I reply easily.

"Let's go get a drink" He says in a way that makes it clear that it isn't a request.

I nod and head to my room to change into a fresh shirt and hoody and grab my cane. I bump into Matt on my way out of the room.

"I was coming to get you" He explains.

"You okay?" I ask. I didn't get hurt but we connected fairly hard. I reach my hand out and touch his shoulder so I can tell where he is. This startles him.

"Fine. Let's go"

"Do you mind leaving Aisha a note?" I ask biting down my frustration at not being able to scribble down something and leave it for her. At not being able to tell if she left her cell phone behind.

"No problem." I hear him open the door and he grabs my forearm. I stop and correct our arm placement for sighted lead (I grab on to you so I can feel you climbing stairs or changing pace). We head out into the cool night air. I am paying attention to walking but also jiggling the house keys nervously in my pocket and enjoying not sharing my thoughts or headspace with anyone else.

"Do you have ID?" Matt asks.

"Yeah but it says I'm nineteen years old"

"Miss I can hack anything made you a fake ID that has your actual age on it?" He scoffs. We move to a table and he moves away from me and sits down. I swing my cane and then grope the table before finding the back of the chair. I check that the seat is clear before folding up my cane and sitting down.

"Well that took forever" Matt observed neutrally. I hear the scrape of his chair as he gets up "I'll go get us some beers" He announces.

I tune into the sound of the bars. There is a group of excited young ish people a few booths away from us. Other than that and the generic alt rock playing in the background it is pretty quiet.

"Hey!" Someone grabs my shoulder and startles me "You aren't 21?" She yells accusingly.

"Amy?" I can't be sure it is her as I have never heard her drunk before and don't have a point of reference.

"Yeah. Sorry for scaring you man. We wanted to invite you- last chance to get wasted before finals" Zach explains coming up behind her.

"Steve! Come drink with us!" Amy insists belligerently.

Amy is usually very prim and proper so although I have no idea what she looks like I cannot help but imagine a preppy sorority type looking very flushed and wasted. Before I know it she is in my lap.

"Woah" Zach says sounding bemused. As far as I know him and Amy are just friends and nothing more.

"Steve" She begins earnestly "You can't see how handsome you are" She sounds like she is about to cry. I look helplessly in Zach's general direction.

"Look Amy. Your food is at the table" He announces.

She runs off.

"Thanks Zach" I sigh.

"No worries. Come sit with us. You would be doing me a huge favour. Everyone on that table is already ridiculously drunk" He laughs.

"I'm here with a friend. He's around here somewhere" I say.

"He's right here" Matt appears. I hear him put the beer somewhere on the table in front of me. I have no idea where or if it is in a mug or a bottle. Zach moves the bottle brushing it against the back of my hand so I can find it.

"Thanks again, Zach. And thanks for the beer Matt. Matt this is Zach a friend of ours from school. Matt is a friend of mine from high school."

"Why don't you guys come and join us? We have a pitcher." Zach offers.

"Sure" Matt says surprising me.

A few hours later and things have taken an interesting turn. Matt is hitting on Amy pretty hard core and it seems to be working. Zach is catching me up on his theories about Game of Thrones when my phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey Steve. So has the alcohol achieved what it was supposed to? Are you two best bros again?"

"Who is this?" I joke.

"Haha. Where are you guys anyway?"

"That place that Zach and Amy invited us to. Amy and Matt have kind of hit it off. Looks like we'll be here a while"

"Okay. I'm coming."

And ten minutes later she is there. I have had a few beers but I can really sense her. She is wearing a skirt or dress in a soft fabric. It is short. She slides into the booth next to me and her bare thigh makes a sound against the vinyl. I allow my hand to slide over a few times 'accidentally' while looking for my drink.

"You aren't fooling anyone" She whispers to me after I 'accidentally' touch her the fifth time.

I lean over and kiss her.

"I knew he wasn't your cousin" Amy announces loudly "I hope he isn't your cousin" She finishes sounding less certain.

We all stumble back to the apartment a while later.

"It's hard to tell who is holding who up" Aisha observes about Matt and Amy.

"He should have some fun. I bet the past few months on the run have been hard for him" I am distracted because that wobbly feeling you get while walking with a buzz is so much more unsettling when you can't see.

We make it to the apartment and Matt and Amy quickly disappear into my bedroom. I can hear her giggles.

"I'll sleep on the couch" I offer. I know it sounds like a question.

"You can sleep with me" She says shyly.

She leads me into her bedroom and into her bed which smells like her. She pulls off my shirt which reminds me of when she saved me, that first day when she handed me a shirt. The timing isn't ideal; there is too much stuff going on but I let my hands explore and her skin is so soft and its dips and curves are so inviting and her smell is so heady. I let myself get lost. And for the first time since I got back I am undoubtedly grateful and present to be here. Alive.

The next morning we lie in but after a while we awkwardly converge in the living room. Amy suggests brunch and we all head out to the diner on the street. Aisha and I are easily affectionate with each other. It feels like a foregone conclusion. We have bigger things to worry about but we can also have this. I squeeze her hand. I am grateful for this. I feel her smile. She squeezes back.

Amy and Matt laugh about last night and as we leave the diner she gives him her number before hugging Aisha and I goodbye. We all head back to the apartment. Matt and I finally talk. I update him on the plan.

"I can pick him up" Matt volunteers. Sensing my skepticism he continues "Look, if we are ever going to figure this out we should stick together. That means Andrew too. It isn't safe for us for him to be in there and I owe him this."

I know that Matt killed Andrew. I also know that he has no idea what to feel about it. He knows he had to. He knows he would do it again. He just doesn't know what kind of person that makes him. He doesn't know how to feel about it. For all his intellectualizing he has no idea why he feels guilty.

"You don't think its kind of messed up how entering that hole like linked up our destinies. We can't outrun this. We can't escape each other" he sighs resignedly.

"I try not to think about it" I answer honestly.

I think he nods. He turns on the TV. I go to my room and tune into the guard.

Aisha gets home from her pre-final tutorial a while later. She joins me. I can always tell the moment she enters her guard. His eyes light up briefly in an expression that makes me wish I could see Aisha look like that. Which registers as unwanted and unprecedented same sex attraction to the guard. Which startles him. I calm him down by focusing intensely on his article on eating paleo.

His supervisor approaches his desk and clears his throat. My surprise is masked by his own surprise. His supervisor never comes down here.

"Mr. Crowley. What can I do for you?" He asks.

"I just came down to tell you that he is getting transferred tomorrow. You two are going to escort him to a new facility. Security briefing tomorrow at 7am"

"Yes sir" He is excited. He has been reading articles and daydreaming for 2 weeks. Finally something is happening.

He gets an email with more details half an hour later. I struggle to keep my feelings neutral.

Tomorrow. We are going to get Andrew back tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: The horrendous paraphrasing of Jung is, mostly, intentional. One of Matt's most endearing traits is (in my opinion) his intellectual posturing and pretension coupled with his teenage insecurity and lack of awareness.**

Matt

Carl Jung posited that there are personality archetypes passed down to us through our collective unconscious- the part of us made up of inherited collective human experience. Andrew gave in to the shadow. Steve is definitely a hero; selfless and a champion. Me? No idea. I know I struggle with the power we have- it is hard not to feel infallible, above it all. I also know that I am scared a lot. Lost in thought. Slow to react to situations not inherently selfless. Maybe even selfish.

I knew how bad things were at Andrew's house. I knew. It was easier to look away. Easier to blame Andrew for being weird, for being hostile, for being needy and crowding me. Easier to resent my Mum for insisting that I give him a ride to school every day. For using that soft pleading voice when she urged me to look out for my cousin. Easier to roll my eyes than to feel how itchy being responsible for Andrew made me. I knew he needed something from me and I wasn't sure if I could give it. It was the same thing with Casey. She wanted me and I was so sure that I would be a giant disappointment I convinced myself that I didn't want her. That night I did what I had to do but even now that Andrew is alive again, I wish I hadn't had to kill him and I know that I would do it again. There was something pure about that moment. In knowing that I had to make a decision. In having what to do about Andrew be so clear. Let him leave and watch people die. Kill or be killed. There are a million ways I could have stopped us getting to that point but that point is what it took for me to choose. To fight. I've spent the past year on the run- unsure about where to start looking and missing the life I had always pretended to be too good for. I was haunted by the thought of Casey; who I had just started to get to know again. I heard Steve right away but I couldn't allow myself to believe there was a piece of my old life that I could still keep. That and I was scared. I heard Aisha as well; her early days wondering. I did nothing. I looked forward to them turning up to trip me up or make me spill something. It reminded me I was alone. That companionship was an option for me. Once again it took Andrew to make me choose.

And here we are now. I'm driving the getaway car waiting for my friends…. My family to rescue Andrew by mind controlling the guards into letting him go. Andrew who has spent the last few days being relentlessly questioned by government agents so doped up that he couldn't use his powers. They knew what to use to dope him. They can disarm us now.

"He's out" I hear from Steve. It is so strange to be able to identify someone by their 'mind voice'. I wish I still smoked weed. Being high might make how normal this was now feel less abnormal.

A few moments later Andrew staggers out into the clearing where I am parked. He is wearing grey sweats and a grey t-shirt. I rush out to help him into the car. My hands are shaking when I start the car. We agreed not to go back to the apartment to be safe. Aisha and Steve are going to meet me just outside Seattle. Andrew coughs. Aisha and Steve are going to meet us, I correct myself. She put the GPS coordinates in my phone. I take a deep breath and remind myself to drive calmly.

"You okay?" I ask Andrew as I check the review mirror for the tenth time.

" Yeah. They doubled the dose today" He coughs and shakes his head like he is trying to clear it.

"Do you know what it is?" I ask.

"Feels like a roofie. Makes it hard to focus" He answers.

"You can go to sleep, man. We'll be there in an hour"

Andrew falls asleep. I turn on the radio. I try not to think about what happens next. Andrew is fine. No one is following us. I don't let myself think that it'll turn out okay; that is how they get you.

I wake up Andrew when we get to the diner that Aisha picked as the meet up place. When we walk in Aisha nudges Steve and he smiles with relief. They stand as we approach the table. Aisha is the first to come in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. First for Andrew then for me. Steve gives Andrew a hug and then gives me one.

We sit down. The waitress comes over to take our order. I am suddenly starving. I order without thinking then realize I do not have enough money to pay for it.

"I've got it" Aisha smiles at me as the waitress walks away.

"You have to stop doing that" I smile back.

"I don't know how you guys do it at all. I can't control it enough to enter anyone like that" Andrew notes.

"Really, dude? 'Enter'" Steve giggles.

"You know what I mean" Andrew laughs. The burn scars on the side of his face stretch tight when he smiles. He notices me looking and ducks his head self-consciously.

We all dig into our breakfasts hungrily. I notice Aisha quietly telling Steve how is food is laid out on his plate. She is so comfortable with him and she helps him out like it isn't a big deal. I think that is part of the reason Steve can be so cool about everything. He leans in and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. I have to look away and fight the pang of jealousy that rises, hoping no one notices. Andrew catches my eye, he noticed.

I clear my throat. "What are we going to do now?" I ask.

"Well, we made sure the guards don't even remember letting Andrew go" Aisha starts.

"Actually we may have gone a bit overboard. They don't really remember anything from the last week" Steve says "Which may be a giveaway that mind control is on the table now but there isn't a way to trace it back to us"

"Right. And I am trying to make sure that we are as nondescript as possible to people in this café. I had one more concern though. About them maybe tracking Andrew but then I came up with an idea" Aisha says.

She pays the bill and we head outside. She makes us take our phones and stuff and leave them in my car. She then leads us to a dumpster where she fishes out a plastic bag with a…. thing inside it.

"What is that?" Andrew asks before I can.

"A magnet. An industrial strength magnet. If there is a tracker in you most likely its signal will be scrambled by this. I hope. Unless it is weird nano bot organic technology- which isn't supposed to exist yet but this is the government. I don't know" She rambles.

Steve squeezes her hand to stop her.

"We have to do something, right?" He reasons.

She nods and sweeps the magnet across Andrew's body. We all watch waiting for something to happen. Nothing does. Steve looks completely out of the loop.

"Did anything happen?" Steve asks breaking the silence.

"I don't think so" Andrew laughs. He seems much more like himself after getting some food.

"Okay. So they could be tracking us. What do we do now? Go back to your apartment?" I ask.

"I was thinking a road trip. To Arizona. That's where the guy I have been talking to let it slip he is based. He is studying a new crash site there" Aisha suggests.

If we are being followed we cannot lead them back to our parents or to Steve and Aisha's new life.

"I hate to be the boring practical one but what about money?" I ask.

"We'll be okay" Aisha assures me.

"So we go now?" Andrew asks.

"We took the bus. Do you mind if we ride with you?" Aisha jokes.

"Yeah" I sigh, running my hand across my face. Today is getting stranger and stranger "let's go".

Andrew falls asleep again as soon as we get into the car. Aisha reaches forward from the back seat and covers him with her scarf thing. I turn off the radio.

"What's up, man?" Steve asks as if he is reading my thoughts. He probably is. I should practice shielding, even when I am at 100% it is not easy for me to do. Once Aisha and Steve found me it was the easiest thing in the world to get in my head. I just had to try to ignore them.

"Nothing," He knows it isn't nothing and I know it isn't nothing I just don't want to talk about it.

"He's worried it was too easy" Aisha says.

"Stop doing that" I say childishly.

"Stop thinking so loudly" She retorts with a smile. She has a great smile. I think it totally unconsciously but once I have started down that road I cannot stop her skin looks so soft and she has these full but demure lips. Her hair is in millions of tiny little braids.

She catches my eye in the rearview mirror; her expression impassive. Steve's brow furrows however and he reaches out for her hand and clasps it possessively. The silence is so heavy for a moment that I can't move. I focus so intensely on the road ahead that my eyes hurt.

Steve speaks first. I catch a glimpse of his face in the rearview mirror- he looks concerned rather than angry which is such a Steve way to be. And so even as I am worried about what he is going to say I am so happy that he is back.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Steve asks gently.

"No" I try to keep my face impassive as I focus on shielding "Just not that many girls on the LAM. Sorry Aisha" I joke weakly.

"No worries. We'll just check out Arizona for a few days and when we get back Amy will be there" Aisha jokes back.

The trip should take like a day on the road but after a few hours it becomes clear we are going to have to stop. Andrew is too tired to take over from me, I am exhausted and Aisha doesn't have an American driving license and doesn't want to risk getting pulled over. We stop at the nearest motel. We get one double room to save money. Luckily they are okay with us sharing. Andrew is awake and seems more like himself joking with Steve and getting all the details on how he escaped.

"How does it feel to make someone do something?" He asks idly levitating a can of coke flipping and spinning it over his head.

"Weird. Wrong. They are in a lot of trouble because of us" Steve says he is fumbling around with his cane looking restless.

Andrew doesn't answer. Eventually Andrew sets up Aisha's laptop to play a movie on the TV and we order a pizza. I am lying on the bed next to Andrew- in clean clothes thanks to Aisha's foresight to pack for everyone. We start the movie. Aisha is leaning against Steve's chest and he is propped against the headboard. He whispers something to her and she laughs and buries her head in his white t-shirt. We start to watch the movie. Aisha got to pick so we are watching Looper. Steve falls asleep first as he is having real trouble following it. There is a knock on the door.

"Finally, I am so hungry you guys" Aisha grumbles as she heads to the door.

She opens the door and there is a bright light and a crack and crash as the door is kicked in. Aisha is knocked down by the force of the door. I had seen it a million times in movies- the guys in army camouflage and masks break in brandishing weapons. What the movies don't tell you is how quickly it happens and how disorienting it is to go from watching a movie to fending off an invasion. The movie is still playing in the background. Bruce Willis is explaining something to Joseph Gordon Levitt at a café. Steve is up- his eyes are desperately scanning the room. Andrew starts to do something.

"Wait! Andrew they aren't going to kill us unless we try to escape" Steve yells.

Andrew hesitates.

The man in charge walks in. He was expecting more of a challenge than four kids at a slumber party. I hear it as clearly as if he walked in.

Aisha comes to and looks anxiously at Steve. It's okay he projects.

"Hi kids. I'm General Trank. You must be Steve, Aisha, Matt and I already know Andrew. Nice to meet you" He says calmly.

No one says anything. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt are trying to kill each other.

"Steve is right. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk. Will you come with us?" He asks with a civility at odds with the weapons pointed at as and the number of soldiers crowded around the kicked in door.

_We should go_ Steve projects.

_What?_ This thought comes in a wave the resistance is equally strong from Andrew, Aisha and I. Our disbelief is indistinguishable.

_They found us somehow. He knows who we are. We can get out any time we want. What we need now is information._

_We don't know what they have._

_They don't intend to kill us NOW. They can still do it later._

The thoughts are coming in so loud and fast I can barely keep up. Then I notice the tremendous energy Aisha is using to keep Andrew calm.

_Stop._ Andrew warns her.

She doesn't.

It is five minutes that stretch for eternity but eventually the decision is made for us. We are piled into the back of a van. Steve is manhandled roughly; the guards either don't know or don't care that he is blind. There is a pneumatic woosh as the doors close and just as we are wondering why the van needs to be airtight a chemical tang hits the back of my throat and everything goes black.

We are being questioned in shifts. They do not know for sure that Steve and Aisha have powers so they are being questioned about how they know Andrew and I. Steve is worried they are going to look into him or test his DNA and find out who he really is and that the person he really is, is technically dead. Aisha is encouraging us to work on fighting off the effects of the 'roofies'. We practice coming too faster and faster with every dose. We are careful in faking the effects; acting groggy and confused long after the effects have worn off. The hardest part is that there is nothing to do all day. In between meals we are just locked up in our cells. There is a toilet, a sink and a little bench/ bed with a thin plastic coated mattress and a blanket that we are supposed to keep folded up. Everytime I have insisted that I am an American citizen our questioners have responded with blank stares. Apart from General Trank I don't know anyone's name. It shouldn't surprise me that people do not think of their own names very often. I cannot keep the connection long enough to follow anyone home like Aisha or Steve could when they were getting Andrew out. On the third day it changes. I am woken by fluorescent light in my room coming on. I wait to be silently escorted to the shower but instead the guard shows me to a cafeteria and gestures gruffly at stack of empty trays. I pick one up, confused but not going to miss out on a hot meal and the chance to look out the window by asking questions. I approach the bored looking man wearing a hair net and grab some food. Grey looking eggs, hash browns, bacon and coffee. A guard comes in with Steve. He doesn't have a cane and he looks incredibly lost. The guard leaves. He goes to help him. He reaches out and grabs his elbow and Steve stiffens.

"Matt?" Steve asks sounding a little irritated. He looks incredibly tired.

"Yeah, sorry, man it's me" I explain. He lets me take his elbow and lead him to the table. I watch him locate the seat and walk away to get him some food. The guard comes back with Aisha. We watch him leave and she rushes towards me and gives me a hug. I gesture to where Steve is. She runs towards him and looks ready to hurl herself into his arms. Instead she says 'hey' softly so he isn't startled and then she hugs him. Steve turns the hug into a passionate kiss and I turn away and focus on placing food on the plate. Andrew is brought in last. He takes his time serving his breakfast and then joins us.

"This was a brilliant idea" Andrew notes smugly tucking into his eggs.

Aisha opens her mouth to respond but instead she just bursts out laughing

Steve joins in first; his shoulders slump as the tension is released. I could not find this situation less funny but the absurdity of Andrew's observation gets to me. Pretty soon we are all wiping tears away.

_I think they are probably listening _Aisha telegraphs.

Andrew scoffs.

_Can I download what I've learned? _She asks

We all agree.

Turns out she has learned a lot. She knows that the General is named Walter. Walter Trask and he was tasked with getting to the bottom of the 'Seattle situation'. That the Seattle situation is being classified as a terrorist attack. That we are all, with the exception of Aisha, considered domestic terrorists. Aisha is being considered an enemy combatant which makes extradition a possibility. There are Guantanamos that aren't Guantanamo. They took our blood to establish what we are. They questioned our families extensively. They consider Andrew the primary threat. They know who Steve is. They do not know if Steve has powers. They do not know if Steve died or faked his death but they are open to both possibilities. They need to figure out a way to permanently eliminate us as a threat. They haven't tried to torture us because they think they know the extent of our powers. Telekinesis and flight. They don't know about the telepathy so we should try to keep that under wraps. The drugs are just sedatives to keep us calm and they have an element that reduces hostility and aggression. They are worried by the time that I spent abroad. Worried about the possibility of us being used by another government. They are considering using us as weapons, imprisoning us or eliminating us. They are ambivalent about the first two and not sure if they can do the third. They do not like that we are friends. That we are friends means that they cannot deport Aisha and practice elimination methods on Andrew and try to turn me into an asset.

_So anything could happen? _I telegraph my frustration focusing intensely on my bowl of oatmeal.

_They had a bio tracker on Andrew. That is how they found us. They last three days. They are mixed in with the sedatives. We need to figure out a way to metabolize them faster. _Steve contributes.

_I can fight off the sedative in 2 hours now it wears off if you focus. _Aisha adds.

_An hour and a half_. Steve confirms.

_2 and a half hours _from Andrew

I don't answer and everyone looks at me expectantly.

_3 hours_ I admit.

_You're going to have to cut it down if we are going to escape _Aisha observes grimly.

She swallows her oatmeal and looks up. She sips some juice before speaking.

"Does anyone know why we are here?" She asks out loud.

"Well" Says General Trask walking into the room and making us all nearly jump out of our skin with fear "I was hoping we could all have a little chat about that."

Reading minds is a strange thing. Sometimes it comes in clear sentences. Some people, like Trask just send out a vibe. Clear as day they project an aura. General Trask is in control. He does not doubt for a second that he knows more than we do, that we are the enemy and that 4 children are no match for the collective might of the United States of America's armed forces.

_Good. We can use that against him_ Steve thinks grimly.

Andrew thinks mercenary and vengeful thoughts. His vibe is predatory. The fact that we have a common enemy right now does not put my mind at ease.

_Here we go_ I think as I put down my hot link and wipe the grease off my chin with my napkin.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Matt

"Let's start with why you think you are here?" General Trask asks conversationally as he sits down next to Andrew and takes a piece of toast off his tray.

Everyone is silent for a second before Andrew speaks his voice laced with hostility.

"Overdue library books?"

General Trask laughs "Guess again".

No one does.

"Well you see, the United States of America does not take kindly to harbouring fugitives" He explains with mock patience.

"I wasn't aware any of us were fugitives" Andrew says defiantly.

I catch a look on Aisha's face that shows that she is taking the opportunity while Andrew is distracting Trask to do some digging.

"So you went through all the trouble of faking your own death for shits and giggles?"

"How did I do that? I was impaled by a metal rod and you buried me. How did I pull that off?"

Aisha shoots Andrew a warning look that Trask catches. I struggle to keep my face impassive.

"Why don't you tell me how he did it?" Trasks asks turning his attention to Aisha.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We met recently" She mumbles.

"Of course you know all this because you have been questioning us for days" I chime in.

"Steve, how did you fake your death? It says on your death certificate that you were struck by lightning. Your parents will be surprised to know that you are alive."

Steve doesn't say anything.

"We're going to take a little trip when you guys are done with your breakfast. I think it'll communicate just how seriously we take this."

Aisha, Andrew and I exchange looks and she reaches under the table to take Steve's hand. Something about how calmly he says it really scares me. A short while later we are bundled into another van. We aren't knocked out this time.

"Should we go?" Andrew asks. It is the first time I have seen him nervous.

"They'd just find us again" Steve says quietly.

The van pulls out of the facility. I watch it get smaller behind us. The windows aren't blacked out and General Trask is driving. There are no guards. I don't think the van is even locked.

"Don't even think about it" he chuckles from the front seat "The stuff we've been pumping into you isn't just a tracker. It also allows for off-site detonation. Granted you all seem to have remarkable rejuvenating powers but I doubt you'll be able to out all the pieces together when I make you go boom."

No one responds.

"Ah playing dumb. Everyone does that at first" He chuckles again.

Aisha swallows audibly and I throw her a reassuring look that I'm not sure I believe. We are in the car for what feels like an eternity but is actually around an hour. We do not stop to pee and I am in agony by the time the van parks. All I can think about is getting to a toilet. We all pile out of the van mutely.

"Line up against that wall please" Trask commands.

"At least he is polite" Aisha grumbles as we head over to a low cement block wall covered in barbed wire. She notices the blood stains first but she tries to keep her thoughts to herself. When Andrew notices them he telegraphs his surprise and that is what Steve picks up on.

"We'd better shield" He suggests grimly in a half whisper half thought.

Luckily the drugs are wearing off slightly and between us we can get a half decent shield up. Trask draws his weapon.

"What are you doing?" Andrew yells.

"Either you have powers or you are useless to me. This little experiment helps me sort the wheat from the chaff" he fires at Andrew. The effort of shielding leaves Andrew doubled over with a bloody nose but before I can register that he has fired on me. He comes in closer after that. When he reaches Aisha he holds the gun to her temple and pulls the trigger. The communal shield is down. I am not sure how she does it but she doesn't get hit. He puts the gun up to Steve's forehead. Steve stiffens as soon as he feels the barrel. Aisha cannot speak but she is choking out sobs that sound like begging. I close my eyes. I hear the gun.

Trask holsters his gun.

"I think you four will do nicely" He says "Get up. You'll thank me for making you stronger."

I open my eyes. Aisha is kneeling over Steve's body. There isn't any blood but to shield from a bullet shot at such close range might have killed him. You can only stretch a muscle so far before it snaps. He rouses a little.

"Get up!" Trask yells menacingly. I get up and help Aisha with Steve. We drag him to his feet. While I am making sure Steve is balanced between us Andrew takes off. He shoots straight up trying to get as much distance between him and Trask as quickly as possible.

Trask doesn't even look up.

Andrew hits something hard and falls from 80 feet in the air. Three guards armed with tazers come to escort us into the building. Which looks like a prison. We are dumped unceremoniously into a cell. Aisha still can't speak and Steve is still out of it. She is rubbing his shoulders comfortingly and just staring around.

"Are you okay?" I ask her loudly.

She pulls herself together and nods.

"Yeah" She takes a deep breath "Do you think Andrew is alive?"

"Who knows?" Andrew was going to leave us to die. He only thinks about himself. Of course I don't say this.

"They've decided to keep us alive" Aisha says after a while.

"That was him deciding to keep us alive?" I scoff.

"That wasn't even the scary bit" Aisha notes grimly "The scary bit is what they want us alive for."

She's absolutely right.

Steve rouses.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

"Did that nutjob really shoot us?" Steve asks groggily.

"Yeah".

I wonder why I don't need to pee anymore. It is only then that I feel the wetness on my trousers. I wonder if everyone is ignoring it to be kind or if they haven't noticed.

The guards come in again and bring us in some clothes- grey sweatpants and grey sweatshirts. We all get dressed awkwardly with our backs turned so we do not see each other. I have to take off my boxers. We are ushered into a room with some chairs, a TV and a foosball table. A few people are milling around wearing grey sweat pants and grey sweat shirts. They all look up when we are ushered in. The guards walk out.

Aisha looks at me and leads Steve over to the chairs. I follow them. We sit down. I look around nervously. They all seem nervous but this has been the strangest day.

"Should we have, I don't know, struggled?" I ask wearily.

"I'm not sure it would have done any good" She reaches over and lays her hand over my forearm and squeezes lightly "We shouldn't have asked you to come"

"You didn't" I sigh.

A middle aged man wearing glasses approaches us cautiously.

"Hi, I'm Rick. Rick Nunez. Is your friend okay?" He asks kindly gesturing to Steve.

"Uh.. no. He..uh… hit his head" Aisha lies unconvincingly.

"He isn't as strong as you are?" It is immediately obvious that he knows.

"They shot him from closer. The gun was on his forehead" I explain.

Rick looks impressed "I haven't heard of anyone surviving that. They usually do it to people they aren't sure about. To scare the rest. I'm a doctor. Do you mind if I take a look?" This time he asks Steve he gently touches Steve's knee so he knows he is being addressed.

"Sure" Steve says drowsily.

Rick leans infront of him and tries to test the responsiveness of his pupils.

"He's blind" Aisha explains.

Steve raises an eyebrow.

"He was checking your pupil response" Aisha explains.

"How was it, doc?" Steve deadpans.

"Pretty bad" Rick jokes.

"Do you have any idea why we are here or where here is?" Aisha asks him as he looks into Steve's eyes.

"I got here 3 weeks ago. As far as I can tell they are training us to be some sort of army. They have a few sets. This is the one for newbies. George" He nods at a guy who looks 16 watching TV in the corner "has been here around 2 months."

"2 months?" I ask incredulous.

"Yeah. He's strong. I don't think all of it is training. I think they are trying to see how far we can stretch before we break." He says.

"How do they do that?" Aisha asks.

"Knowing that today won't help you so try not to worry. This is 'rec time' we get to hang out before dinner" He explains cheerily.

"You're a doctor. You had a life. So they just took you?" Aisha asks incredulous.

"You sound as shocked as I felt a couple of weeks ago. I guess you can get used to anything" he smiles to himself.

"No one has tried to escape?" Aisha asks.

They are interrupted by the guards dragging a thrashing screaming body down the hall.

"That's Andrew" Steve says.

It is Andrew but they only see him for a second before he is dragged around a corner and out of sight.

"He's okay" Aisha sighs with relief.

"He was going to leave us" I finally say, frustrated.

Steve's jaw tightens.

"Is that your friend?" Rick asks.

"Friend. Yeah." I reply not bothering to disguise my bitterness.

Rick doesn't seem interested in our drama.

"Well you look okay. A bit dazed but that will probably clear up. Do you need a cane or something?" Rick asks Steve as he finishes his exam.

"I had one but they took it" Steve explains.

"We can put in requests for stuff like that with the group leader. It's how I got my glasses. It could take a while though" He sounds apologetic.

"It's a good thing you have your friends here with you. How did you find each other?" He asks curiously. His tone is even but his energy shifts perceptibly.

Steve telegraphs a strong message of distrust. He is right. We do not know this guy or if we can trust him.

Aisha answers. She is the best at lying not just with her words but in keeping all the other non-verbal stuff in check as well in case there are any other telepaths in the room.

"We met at the detention center" She says smoothly.

Steve nudges me mentally to notice that there is someone paying intense attention to our conversation. I cannot be sure if they is listening to our thoughts as well. I can tell Steve is trying to tune in.

Suddenly there is a loud noise as another man in his mid- twenties falls dramatically into a shelf. I can tell that Steve did it. That is the guy. Aisha reacts with feigned shocks and calms Rick's suspicions.

"You alright there?" Rick yells over.

"Fine" the man says looking perturbed. He hastily rearranges the board games that were on the shelf and comes over.

"Adrian meet the new inmates" Rick gestures to us trailing off as we have not been formally introduced.

"Hi, I'm Aisha, this is Steve and Matt" Aisha introduces us.

"Nice to meet you" he replies awkwardly. We are all acutely aware of the contrast between the pleasantries we are exchanging and our surroundings.

**I didn't think anyone else could do that **He thinks. It is addressed to Steve but we all hear. Aisha shoots me a look that it might be best if we don't let on that we are all telepaths. I nod subtly in agreement.

**Me neither **Steve responds.

"Maybe I can show the newbies around before dinner?" Adrian suggests to Rick.

"Sure. I'll see you guys at dinner" Rick says. He squeezes Steve's shoulder as he gets up from where he was crouched in front of him. We set off following Rick.

The tour is a blur.

"You were right not to trust Rick. He is the self-appointed leader and we all suspect he feeds them information but he is basically a good guy"

"Who are 'they'?" Aisha asks.

"Trask is military but no one knows which branch. I suspect when they are done with us we probably won't have official ranking either" He smiles at a memory. Of course we all read it.

"You were military." Steve voices what we all just realized.

"You are good at that kid. I'm not that focused yet but I think having it might speed up getting out of here" He muses.

"How are you getting out?" I ask.

"The only way; there is no way out of here except playing along until they let you out. That's when you make your move and not a second before then" He answers.

Dinner passes in a blur. Everyone keeps to themselves and is suspicious of anyone else. Steve and Aisha are scanning the room to try and see if anyone else is a telepath. I am too tired to bother. Our 'room assignment' is a cell with four bunks. I have no idea what time it is when they throw us in there and lock the barred doors into the cells. I think it is strange that they are letting us bunk with a girl- the beds are too narrow to get up too much trouble though. We are also way too tense and exhausted. Aisha leads Steve to a bunk and he sits down. She describes the room to him and he nods wearily leaning back. I take the top bunk opposite him. Aisha squeezes in next to him and I wish I could get that kind of comfort from one of them. Steve smiles and nudges Aisha aside gently before getting up.

"Come here man" He says. He isn't looking at me but I know he is talking to me. I jump down from the bunk and stand in front of him and he pulls me in for a hug. My first instinct is to struggle but, damn it, I needed a hug. Steve puts his arms around me and I can tell he is going to do it as long as I need him too. Our unwashed bodies smell terrible together but it is okay. We are going to be okay.

It is easier to fall asleep after that.

We are woken up what feels like 5 minutes later. I cannot tell because there are no windows and the cells are lit by fluorescent bulbs. The guards direct us into a courtyard where we are split into groups and we begin to do drills. The drills are exhausting and last for hours. Then breakfast. After breakfast we are ushered into a lecture hall. Adrian gestures for us to sit next to him. What follows is so bizarre. There is testing and recitation of weird phrases and a patriotic film. Then lunch. After lunch we have individual sessions where we are ushered into a room with General Trask and a guy in a white coat taking notes. It is like a cheesy spy movie.

They ask me to move stuff, lift stuff and break stuff. The scientist says some weird stuff about manipulating molecules. I halfheartedly try to follow his instructions but I can't. He notes that down and them I am released. I am staring at the TV and Steve is asking funny questions about what he is hearing on the TV- which is tuned to the shopping network- when Aisha comes back. She flops down in between us.

"How was it?" I ask.

"Same as you. Asked me to move things." She says.

"Could you do the molecule thing?" I ask.

"Yeah but I'd done it before" she answers.

"Steve?" I ask.

He nods.

"Way to make me feel like the loser guys" I grumble.

They both laugh.

"So I guess we're just property of the government, now?" Steve wonders out loud.

Aisha and I do not respond.

"Could be worse I guess" He muses.

And he is right. The next few weeks are tough but there is a strange comfort in the regularity. We wonder where Andrew is and are always trying to find out information. We keep our distance from the other inmates and we participate in the training. Most of it seems like standard military training and Adrian confirms this but there is also the strange mental conditioning element. It seems like brainwashing but I don't feel particularly brainwashed. Our powers respond to the regularity of the training and get stronger. Steve is particularly strong. He tells us that General Trask seems excited during their individual sessions. Aisha, Steve, Adrian and I are called out of drills and lead to Trask's office.

"Good morning soldiers" Trask greets us congenially and gestures to us to sit.

Aisha raises an eyebrow at me. Soldier seems like a strange word choice.

"Um. I'm not even America and would like to take this opportunity to express my displeasure at being kidnapped and forced to participate in whatever this is against my will" Aisha says.

"Noted, soldier" Trask chuckles.

"I have a mission for you. Adrian will be team leader. I want to be clear; this is a test to see if we can trust you with more responsibility. If you try to escape we will kill you and we will kill Andrew."

"I don't believe this 'we will kill you' nonsense" Adrian challenges "You haven't killed anyone yet."

Trask smiles like he was hoping someone would say that. He pulls out a walkie talkie.

"Bring Nunez to the upper left quadrant" he orders.

We watch out the window as Nunez is escorted to the fence. The guard begins to walk away and Nunez seems confused. Trask pulls out a thing that looks like a television remote.

"Maybe you should narrate for Steve" He suggests nodding to Aisha.

"Nunez is standing by the fence. Trask is holding a box that looks like a remote thing. He's going to kill him" Aisha explains with only a small tremor in her voice. She stares at Trask defiantly as she does.

"I am only doing this because your friend doubted the seriousness of my intentions. But this will serve a double purpose; you only stay alive as long as you are useful. Nunez's training was not progressing and he is no longer useful to usefulness to me is measure in completed and successful missions." He presses the button and the ground vibrates and noise stuns us. Nunez just disappears in the explosion.

He lets us sit in the silence for a moment before he claps his hands together.

"Am I understood?" He asks pleasantly.

"Yes sir" Adrian responds.

He looks at Aisha and I questioningly.

"Yes sir" we respond in unison.

"Steve?"

"Yes sir" Steve says, his voice hollow.

"Good. This gentleman will escort you to your briefing" He dismisses us.

We walk, dazed into the courtyard outside. A breeze blows the scent of smoke in our direction. Steve retches and finally throws up. We all stand in silence until he finishes, wipes his mouth with the corner of his sweatshirt and holds out his arm for Aisha lead him again.

**You are going to need a stronger stomach. Because I guarantee you whatever it is they want us to do- we are going to have to get our hands dirty. **Adrian thinks.

He feels sorry for us because he thinks we are just children but also slightly frustrated because having Steve with him might be a liability. He is concerned primarily with self-preservation.

**We should be too.** I think grimly.


	9. Chapter 9

The details of the mission are simple. We sit in a briefing room and have the details laid out for us by one of Trask's minions. He says his name is Tim and that he will be coordinating our missions. He doesn't seem military to me. A quick scan of Adrian's thoughts shows that he is equally skeptical. The mission is simple. Steve will track our target and Adrian will lead Matt and I on a mission to drop a beacon at his home. We will be airlifted into an undisclosed location and our target will be revealed to us then. We will have 12 hours to complete our mission.

"That's it? We just drop a beacon?" I ask Tim. He won't tell me the truth but most people think about the truth before they tell a lie.

His mind is blank.

"That's all you need to know." He smiles.

**CIA **Adrian telegraphs. He still thinks that Steve is the only telepath. Steve, Matt and I have been trying to figure out ways of communicating without him noticing. He isn't that strong but he is very suspicious. The trick to shielding is to let some thoughts filter through since no one is ever thinking about nothing. Apparently at the CIA they just teach you not to think about anything. I wonder how they do that?

"When do we leave?" Steve asks.

"0400 hours" Tim replies.

Maybe Tim is telepathic? Maybe they have a telepath in the other room shielding for him? Maybe he just doesn't know the rest of the plan?

**Maybe he is sending a bunch of kids on a crazy dangerous mission and he is detached from it **Steve telegraphs, ostensibly to Adrian, his tone is matter of fact but I know it is for me.

I shield registering it and focus on the protocols that Tim is droning on about.

"No intervention mission. The United States government will not claim you, we will deny any and all knowledge of your existence." He reads from a piece of paper in his hands studiously avoiding eye contact with us.

"So if anything goes wrong we are on our own?" Matt clarifies.

"Essentially, yes. It helps that you are all officially dead." Tim jokes.

Everyone registers this information but we keep our faces impassive. Finally we are let out of the briefing room and into the rec centre. There are a new bunch of 'recruits'. Everyone keeps to themselves especially after news of what happened to Rick Nunez spread. No one trusts anyone and because we are constantly in and out of training and exams there isn't really very much time to build relationships. I lead Steve to the couch where we usually have our rec dates.

"Is anyone looking?" He asks sheepishly when we are settled in.

"No" I do a quick scan to make sure. Most people are caught up in their own rec routines. Matt is playing foosball with Adrian.

"Good" He pulls me in for a kiss.

Here is the thing; this is undoubtedly the most messed up situation of my life. My parents think I am dead. My whole life has been turned upside down and I am going to have to do something that I really do not want to do in a few hours but when we kiss this warm feeling spreads through my stomach and I have this micro moment of knowing that everything will be okay. Maybe not even will be but is. Everything is okay. It is false and it is temporary and my stomach churning anxiety always comes back. But it is nice.

"Why did you want to make sure no one was looking?" We haven't tried to hide the fact that we are a couple- too many lies to keep up with already.

"Oh. Because of this." Steve pulls a snickers bar out of the pocket of his ugly grey sweatpants.

"No way!" I grab the chocolate bar and open it to make sure it is real. It has been forever since I have seen food from outside.

"Be cool" Steve cautions.

"Where did you get it?"

"One of the guards. I've been planting that he should do something nice for me since we got here." He explains.

"Can I have some?" I ask.

"It's for you."

I scoff.

"It is" He insists "Happy birthday."

"My birthday is two days from now"

"We'll be busy trying not to die two days from now" He jokes.

"We'll be back by then" I reassure him.

"Yeah" He reassures me.

"Thank you for the present" I lean in and kiss him.

When we break the kiss he pulls me in for a hug. We sit there for a little bit.

Matt wins his game of foosball and comes over for a high five. He joins us on the couch and lays his head in my lap. I stroke his head. I break the chocolate into three even chunks and hand it out to everyone.

"Don't tell me if I am hallucinating this. Just let me dream." Matt says as he bites into it.

We laugh.

"Happy birthday by the way" Matt says.

"It isn't my birthday yet."

"Yeah well I need to say it now" He takes another bite of chocolate "This is pretty good for a last meal."

"We're not going to die." I insist.

"Yeah" He responds rolling his eyes "I mean, for all we know we can't, right?"

"Nunez hasn't managed to resurrect." Steve observes.

"Yeah well, we're better off not thinking about what they did with the parts of Nunex that were large enough to scoop up." Matt muses munching his chocolate.

Later on we are having dinner in the mess hall. Matt is complaining about how the chocolate just reminded him of what real food tasted like making the food even more inedible. He trails off. I turn to see what he is looking at- a new girl, a pretty one.

Steve laughs and rolls his eyes.

"Really, Matt? Weren't you just going on and on about how we were going to die?" Steve asks stabbing a piece of grey meat and shoving it into his mouth.

"We're not yet dead yet" Matt says quickly finishing off his food "excuse me."

"Oh my God he is actually going to go talk to her." I laugh pushing away my tray.

"It's going to work. She thinks he's cute."

You need to stop doing that to innocent people. I telegraph.

Why? It is so much fun. He telegraphs back with a grin.

I think about the most disgusting thing I have ever seen; which was a deformed calf being born on my Grandmother's farm. I push the image forcefully into Steve's mind.

"Oh my God. Disgusting. I'm done with dinner." Steve laughs "I could smell it. How did you do that?"

"It was a complete memory so I guess I could communicate the whole thing" I muse.

"Cool. Do you think there is any point going to bed tonight?" Steve asks playfully.

"Nope" I smile "But how will we fill in the time between now and leaving?"

"We could go see a movie." Steve floods my mind with memories of walking hand in hand coming back from class. Since it is from his perspective all I can smell is my perfume, I can feel the warmth of the crook of my elbow against his hand and I can hear the steady tap of his cane as he navigates the sidewalk; it punctuates my laughter. I can feel how much he loved making me laugh.

"We could go get desert". I focus on the memory of a night when we sat in the kitchen nook and ate cheesecake. I do not hide how I felt that night sitting across from him in his grey tank. How my skin flushed when his hand brushed against mine when he reached out and I handed him a fork. I smile as I watch his face respond to the memory I pushed into his head. I know he got visuals as well. I wonder if it was weird for him to watch himself through my eyes.

"Or we could just go back to the room? Matt's going to be a while." He feigns nonchalance.

"Good idea."

* * *

><p>The alarm goes off literally three seconds after I have fallen asleep. Steve, Matt and I get dressed groggily and head out silently to the waiting transport. The clothes were given to us when we first moved to individual training sessions. It is combat gear; warm layers in dark colours with loads of pockets and sturdy boot .The ride is twenty three minutes long and the moon is bright which gives me something to stare at out of the window. I can keep track on the watches we were issued this morning. It feels good to be able to keep track of time again. We get to the airstrip and are herded into a military aircraft. I've only ever flown commercial so it looks like something out of a movie. The noise as we take off is deafening.<p>

"So how did it go with the new girl?" Steve shouts as soon as the sound of the engine has dulled to a steady rumble.

"Don't ask because I am not telling soldier" Matt leans back cockily.

I laugh. We fall asleep after a little bit and are woken up by a soldier opening a door between the cockpit and us.

"We are landing in ten minutes. " He barks before retreating back into the cockpit.

I wipe the drool off my face and check my pockets for some reason. I feel the plane start to descend and my stomach clenches. I check my pockets again. I feel like I have forgotten something. I hate this. We hit the tarmac and someone ushers us into a room. Steve is separated from us. Matt, Adrian and I are lead to a jeep.

"I am going to communicate with Steve and relay the information to you. Stay frosty okay?" Adrian says.

He looks totally in his element as he jumps into the jeep. Once a soldier always a soldier I guess. Matt and I jump in after him. We speed through the streets. I can't really take in anything about our surroundings but I would guess we are in North Africa which would make me really close to home. The jeep stops in a compound. We climb out and the driver throws a package at Adrian and speeds off. Adrian turns to us.

"You need to shield and make us look as nondescript as possible." Adrian barks at me.

This is a talent that really impressed our trainers. Basically I can make skip right past us when they scan a room. I nod at Adrian.

"You will be our back up. If anything goes wrong you will have to fly or fight us out." Adrian orders Matt.

This makes sense. Matt is strong enough to pull us all out of here and fly.

"I will communicate with Steve and, when the time comes, I will plant the beacon." Adrian concludes.

Cool. It means we can leave him.

"I heard that." He smirks at me.

"I meant you to. Let's get this over with, okay?"

Adrian hands out our disguises. I shake my head when I see us all dressed up in our burqas.

"There is something so racist and sexist about this. You can't let anyone look at you too closely. It is going to be hard enough to stop them noticing you guys" I warn.

Steve telegraphs a location to Adrian. Matt and I pretend not to have heard.

"Head out" He barks.

We follow him. We walk for half an hour. It is quite hot I look at my watch and realize I have no idea what the time is locally. I look at the position of the sun and guess it is around arrive at the location that Steve told us about. He lets us know how many people are inside. Matt is surveying the surrounding buildings. We spend some time talking through our options until Steve warns we are running out of time.

"I'm just going to walk in. Cover me." Adrian starts to head into the house through the courtyard.

The guards are hyper-vigilant which makes it more tricky to make Adrian invisible. I crouch down and concentrate. He makes it through the gate. He walks into the house and no one sees him.

**This is so weird **Adrian thinks.

He rounds a corner into the main room where our target is sitting but walks straight into a guard.

There is no way to disguise the feeling of walking into something. Everyone notices it and gives Adrian a second look. The guard that he bumped into pulls out his gun and starts to aim. I make the decision to knock him out quickly. I have no idea what I did to his brain but I felt something break before his body fell to the ground.

Everyone definitely notices that. An order is given and everyone pulls out their guns and begins shooting.

Matt hears the commotion. "What is going on?"

Steve telegraphs **Adrian is alive.**

"I'm going to get him. Cover us." I yell at Matt before running into the house. I shield myself and run straight for Adrian bolstering his already weakening shield. The bullets are raining down. With all the strength I can muster I push the shield outwards. Everyone is knocked off their feet. The windows shatter. The walls crack. Adrian and I get out of there as fast as possible. When we are back on the street and reunited with Matt we take off just in time to watch a bomb heading straight for the house.

Meet at the rendezvous point Steve telegraphs.

"Let's head for the rendezvous point. " Adrian orders.

We follow each-other. Matt has the GPS. The coordinates only came in at the last minute. We fly for 6 hours. I have no idea where we are but the sun has just started going down. Matt starts to land and I follow him. My landing is sloppy and I land on my knees. Adrian doubles back to help me up. We see the waiting military jet. There is a soldier who scans our nano chips into a computer before allowing us to enter. They injected permanent tracking devices into us before the mission so they wouldn't have to rely on the medication.

"Aisha?" Steve asks gripping his cane. I can tell he has been pacing anxiously. I move in for a hug. Matt gets one after me.

"Adrian?" Steve says holding out his hand for a handshake. Adrian shakes his hand.

"Strap in" barks the person in the cockpit.

Matt shows Steve his seat and straps him in before sitting down. We sit silently for the first ten minutes of the flight. Everyone is too frazzled to shield and the air hums with fragments of thoughts. The space is drenched in our collective adrenaline. I wish I was sitting next to Steve.

He floods me with a memory of us sitting next to each other at the bar and the many times he 'accidentally' grazed my thigh. I smile.

"Please stop" Adrian groans.

"Sorry" Steve laughs sounding decidedly unapologetic.

"Why did you go back for me?" Adrian asks gruffly after Steve's laughter has died down.

"Your shielding isn't that strong. I remembered that from training. I knew you wouldn't be able to hold them off for that long." I answer.

"Why not just leave me to die?" He asks looking into my eyes intensely.

"I wouldn't do that. The only way we are going to get through this is together."

* * *

><p>We don't return to the States the same way and we are moved to a different base away from the other prisoners.<p>

"Welcome back" Tim greets us as we climb out of the jeep.

No one answers. Matt, Adrian and I are too busy trying to take in our new surroundings.

"So these are your new digs. We need to debrief you and then we'll show you your new living quarters." Tim explains.

For debrief we fill in paperwork that details our actions during the mission and then go through a polygraph where we are quizzed on the details we fill in. Everyone is professional and cold. After the debrief we are ushered into a room with a round table and Tim is waiting for us. I am starving- we haven't eaten anything since the energy bars we found in the plane.

"You guys must be hungry; help yourselves and sit down and we can have a chat." Tim says gesturing to sandwiches set up in the corner.

I make a plate for Steve and put it in front of him before grabbing a sandwich for myself. Once we have all sat down Tim begins.

"That was really good work. We want to talk to you about your future with the Agency." Tim begins.

"The agency?" Adrian scoffs.

"Yes. The Agency. You demonstrated your worth as assets today."

"You make it sound like we have a choice." Steve notes.

"You do. The same one your friend Andrew had to make. Between choosing to live and work for us and extermination." Tim sets out calmly.

"What did he choose?" Matt asks.

"He chose us."

"Attempts to brainwash you have been unsuccessful and the top scientific minds in the country have not been able to figure out what happened to you and whether it can be reversed. Let me be clear; proving yourselves loyal and useful and death are the only choices available to you."

"So; die or slavery?" Matt clarifies sarcastically "do we get some time to think about it or is this wonderful offer closing soon?"

"You can think about it tonight. I'll get my answer tomorrow." With that Tim stands and leaves.

A group of guards come in and show us to our new living quarters. It is a house. They drop us off and drive away without explaining anything to us. We approach the house suspiciously. It is furnished like a rental. The kitchen is fully stocked. The bedrooms have clothes in our sizes and toiletries. After showering and changing into fresh clothes. Steve and I head to the kitchen. He sits down and I start to look through the cupboards finding something to cook. The idea of a hot home-cooked meal is enough incentive for me to shake off my fatigue and rally to make something.

"Hey. Need any help?" Matt offers as he enters.

Clearly Steve and I weren't the only ones who had the idea to shower and get dressed. I am in the middle of middle of rubbing a marinade on to the chicken.

"Sure. Make the salad?" I suggest.

Matt nods and pulls some vegetables out of the crisper.

"There's beer in here. You want one, Steve?" Matt offers.

"Yeah. Thanks" Steve agrees.

Matt brushes the bottle against Steve's hand and returns his attention to the salad. We work in silence.

Adrian joins us for dinner once it is ready. We sit around the kitchen table washing down our meal with beers.

"So what are we going to do?" Adrian asks.

"We?" I enquire petulantly.

"Yes, we probably have a better chance of surviving this if we work together" Adrian smiles at me.

"I don't see that we really have a choice. We have to say yes" Matt says "This house is better than our old cell."

"It is a slightly nicer place to be imprisoned against your will and kill people for the government" I say sarcastically.

My hands shake and I get up from the table and head to my room, careful to shield my thoughts. I killed someone today. More than one person I realize noting that I was only counting the guard that I snapped. I killed a room full of people today. I take a deep steadying breath. I have no idea who they were or what they did to deserve that. Is there anything they could have done to 'deserve' what we did.

There is a knock at the door.

"Can I come in?" Steve calls cautiously from the door.

"Yeah" I call back.

Steve does a pretty good job finding the bed and sitting down next to me considering I am being completely unhelpful.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks.

"I killed people today. What is there to say about that?" I ask choking back a sob.

"You did what you had to do. You saved Adrian." Steve reaches out and finds my hand.

"It was too easy to do that. I didn't think I was capable of that. It was the easiest thing." I admit.

"Good."

I stare at him incredulously.

"I mean it. I want us to survive. I want to think that we will have a life after this. I'm glad you can do what you need to survive. I wish I could protect you. I would do it for you if I could but I can't so I'm glad you did it."

"That's really messed up."

"I know."

"I don't know if I can be this person."

As soon as I say it I know that it is a lie. I know I can become this person. I worry that I have already become this person. I don't want to be this person.

"We'll get out of here." Steve assures me.

I wish I couldn't tell how little he believes that we will.

Today is my 20th birthday.


	10. Chapter 10

"So you're first mission was a near unmitigated disaster" Tim says. The giant grin on his face doesn't match his critical words. He has just finished introducing himself as our long term handler explaining that he would be our only contact with the Agency and that this would be our base of operation.

After my talk with Steve, a hot home cooked meal and a night of uninterrupted sleep in a queen size bed my own room I am feeling slightly more optimistic about my future.

"Yesterday you said we'd proved our worth." Adrian smirks.

"You have. Your raw….erm…. talent is evident. You proved yourselves worthy of further training and investment. But how you actually handled your mission was sloppy and dangerous and poorly thought out. Whose idea was it to physically plant the beacon?" Tim leans back in the office chair he is sitting in.

"Mine" Adrian answers boldly.

"You all have telekinetic abilities." Tim observes drily.

"We didn't know what the layout of the meet-up would me or how anyone would respond to something floating in there." Adrian sits up getting defensive.

"Adrian you were briefed about the beacon. You could have buried it outside the wall and it would have worked. Why didn't you?" Tim asks.

I can tell that Tim is intentionally stirring the pot to make it seem like Adrian intentionally endangered our lives and I am interested in the answer but it is more important to make it clear, both to Adrian and Tim, where our allegiances lie.

"You still haven't asked us what we choose?" I speak up.

"I'm sorry?" Tim turns his attention to me.

"Yesterday you gave us an option. You started today's meeting assuming that we've all picked the Agency."

He stares me down for a second. I make sure to hold his gaze. I can feel something close to gratitude from Adrian.

"You're right Aisha. So has anyone decided on extermination?" He asks cheerfully clapping his hands together.

We all look at each other. Steve speaks for the group.

"We need more information before we make our decision. Is there any chance of an outside life? How many missions would we do? How much information would we be given?"

"Would we get paid?" Adrian chimes in.

I roll my eyes at Matt who just smirks in my direction. We had agreed that asking for payment and becoming mercenaries would probably compromise our moral high ground. Besides, as property of the government, where would we spend our ill-gotten gains?

It is clear that Tim finds the question just as ridiculous.

"Look if this is going to work you will need to be comfortable not seeing the big picture. I don't have the answers either. Right now what you know is that the alternative is death. You need to make the best decision you can with the information you have." Tim says.

For the first time since we met him he seems almost human to me.

**He's telling the truth. We don't have a choice.** Matt telegraphs sounding exhausted.

"Okay" Matt says staring at his hands.

"Okay" Adrian follows.

"Okay" Steve says clearing his throat and reaching for my hand under the table.

"Okay" I say squeezing Steve's hand.

"Okay" comes a voice from behind us. We all know who it is but even Steve turns to make sure.

"Ah. Grab a seat Andrew." Tim gestures to the seat.

My hand is instantly sweaty. I release Steve's hand quickly and wipe my hand on my khaki trousers careful to keep my thoughts blank. My throat is dry so I reach for the glass of water in front of me. Andrew catches my eye as he sits down and smiles. I smile back, uncomfortable.

"Now if you're all done with this heartwarming reunion; let's get to work." Tim smirks, relishing in the tension that has descended.

He sets out our schedule for the week which boils down to tests and training. I notice that we have more 'personal time' than we did at the centre. That, combined with our own house, is a huge improvement. I wonder how long it takes for Stockholm syndrome to set in.

I don't have a lot of time to think about it. Tim instructs us that our first session is with the research team. We are lead into a waiting room where we sit in silence. Matt is staring at Andrew leerily. We are all trying very hard to keep our thoughts blank. A guy in a white coat comes out and calls me in.

"Ladies first." I joke as I enter the room.

He doesn't even crack a smile.

"I'm going to draw some blood."

I take off my hoodie and sit on the gurney. He takes out a needle and draws some blood. He takes my blood pressure and listens to my heart.

"We're done. Ask Matt to come in." He dismisses me.

I am dazed by the conveyer belt nature of the interaction. I wordlessly get off the gurney and walk out of the room. The boys are still sitting in silence. Steve is fiddling with his cane. They all look up questioningly.

"He just took some blood and stuff. He wants you to go in Matt" I say.

Matt stands up and walks into the room.

I sit down near Steve. The silence is so heavy. When everyone is done with the white coat guy he directs us to a large room. A woman with red hair is waiting for us. She smiles, which is disorienting.

"Hi guys! I'm Sharon and I am going to be training you guys. Today we're just going to assess." She says.

Sharon leads us through what I can only describe as an obstacle course for people with superpowers. She doesn't mind if we do it as a team. In fact, after we ask she seems pleased. She explains the objective to us- basically to get across the course as quickly as possible. There is a giant wall, swinging planks of wood and what looks like a giant body of water.

"Go!" Sharon yells. She nods at a darkened window where I assume the monitoring is taking place.

Matt raises an eyebrow at me. He thinks we should just fly. It is a good idea but something makes me pause. They know, from Andrew and from our first mission that we can fly and that would make it too easy. I pick up a chair near Sharon and throw it above the obstacle course. It sets off a force field of some sort and lands directly underneath the spot, charred.

"Time is ticking!" Shouts Sharon. Her tone is teasing. She sounds like a friendly camp counselor leading us in a game of capture the flag.

None of us move.

"Clearly you need a little incentive." She laughs and nods at the darkened window again.

The force field ceiling starts to descend. Awesome.

Matt looks at me for guidance. When I don't do anything. He runs towards Steve and starts to lead him toward the first obstacle- the giant wall.

I don't make the decision to do what happens next. The exhaustion, frustration and confusion of the past few days build up and as soon as the idea pops into my head I know that I can do it. So I do it.

You can reach into the smallest part of a thing and pull it apart. You can break something so thoroughly that there are no pieces and no sound when it shatters. The wall, the water, the force field, Sharon's clipboard; It is only so much stuff.

And I have the power to take it apart.

The look on Sharon's face when her clipboard and everything else in the room disappears is worth the instant splitting headache. Steve realizes what I did first and does that thing where he manages to look right at me. I start to walk out of the room. Matt leads Steve and they follow me. No one stops us. We walk silently all the way back to the house. I sit on the couch. Steve and Matt join me. Steve finds my hand and gives it a squeeze. I start to laugh. They join me.

That's how Andrew finds us.

"Next time you guys are planning a coordinated storm off you should let me know." He comments sitting across from us in one of the armchairs in the room.

"Where have you been?" Steve asks.

"Oh you know; lab experiments and stuff." He answers casually.

"Did it hurt?" Matt growls unkindly.

"Yes." Andrew answers easily.

"You guys just left. That was so awkward." Adrian whines as he enters the room.

He spots Andrew. I hear him instruct himself not to recoil.

"You must be Andrew. Welcome back." Adrian extends his hand.

Andrew takes it and nods a greeting.

"Does anyone want something to drink? I'll put on some coffee." Adrian suggests heading into the kitchen.

Andrew studies my face intently.

"You're getting stronger" He observes after a beat.

Steve slides his hand on to my knee protectively.

"I have a theory about that. It's your first kill. It frees you. You've done the worst thing your powers can do so you aren't scared anymore. And because you aren't scared you are powerful." His eyes narrow. I fight the urge to cross my hands in front of my chest. Just because it seems like he can see right through me doesn't mean he can. I block his attempts to read me.

"Aisha did what she did to protect us and get us out of there alive. Are we going to talk about how you were going to abandon after we got in that situation trying to save you?" Matt asks.

"I would apologize but I think you guys are starting to get that the only point now is survival."

"Well then you still messed up because the only way we are going to survive this is together." Steve points out calmly.

"That I agree with. But if you escape you'll take me with you."

Matt scoffs.

"You will. Because you need me. Matt is weak. Aisha and Steve are strong but wouldn't be able to get their hands bloody. You can't be sure you can trust Adrian."

"We definitely can't trust you" I say.

"Yes you can. You know exactly who I am and you can trust that. I'm going to get us out of here." Andrew promises.

A familiar look is in his eyes. It is murderous and certain. I cross my legs.

Sharon walks in while we are making dinner. The radio is on and I am making a salad and listening to Steve singing softly to himself. He has a lovely voice. He comes up next to me and swings me around pulling me in closer to sway us to the music. My body instantly responds to the warmth from his. I pull away when I hear footsteps but only slightly as I think it must be Matt or Adrian.

"We had some bets about which of the guys you were sleeping with. Looks like I win." Sharon begins, raising her eyebrow archly.

"Excuse me?" I sputter not able to stop the blush rising on my face. I know that she notices it. I take a deep breath so I don't hand her any more easy victories.

"Why are you here?" Steve asks flatly.

"I came to talk to Aisha about her little display. Will you excuse us?"

"No." Steve answers calmly wrapping his arm around me.

I appreciate what he is trying to do but it doesn't help me to be perceived as under his protection.

"I'm going to talk to her" I tell Steve "Let's go outside" I gesture toward the door.

She joins me outside. It is a mild day.

"That was stupid." She observes drily.

"What was?" I ask.

"Your little tantrum. Do you realize you gave us exactly what we wanted? We're assessing you and now we know that you are incredibly powerful. And stupid."

"I was tired. It's been a little tough what with the kidnapping and conscription" I answer sarcastically.

She walks towards me. I instantly raise a shield.

"You are going to have to learn how to play this game if you guys are going to survive. The quicker they think that they control you the sooner they will make a mistake." Her voice is low and urgent.

"They? You are one of them."

"I am the only reason the whole lot of you weren't blown up today. Everyone thinks this program is too risky. Plan A was to exterminate you. This is Plan B. There is no Plan C. Do you understand?"

I nod.

"Your psychological profile points you out as the natural leader and smartest tactician. You can get your friends out of this." She urges me.

"I don't understand. Why would you be helping us?"

"You aren't the only ones at risk. If this pilot is at risk they will start screening the general population for superhuman abilities. I can't let that happen."

I try to probe but she has a shield up. Our eyes lock and in that moment I understand.

She is one of us.

"Wait. Are there more?"

She turns and walks away.


	11. Chapter 11

Aisha

The easiest way to gain trust is to be trustworthy my grandmother used to tell me. She probably still passes on that advice. I stand outside for a few minutes, listening to Sharon's footsteps and then the sound of her car starting and pulling away as I try to decide what to do. If there is an angle she is playing, I can't see it. It is way too much of a risk for her and anyone could see, outside of my little tantrum, we weren't going to risk our lives or the lives of our parents by being anything less than cooperative. She gains nothing by coming up with an elaborate network of gifted people somehow at risk of extermination. She is like us. She could have been the person shielding for Tim. She could have been listening to us all along. If that is true then she has been protecting us. She could have exposed us a million different times in a million different ways; most crucially by undermining our new alliance with Adrian by exposing that we had lied to him about our ability to communicate telepathically. So she's telling the truth. What should I do with the truth? I could keep it to myself- which seems stupid. If I need to step up and lead, they need to trust me. We were going to cooperate anyway, I remind myself as I turn back towards the house. Steve is in the kitchen, finishing up the salad. Considering I have watched him fly, hurl massive objects using the power of his mind and shield himself from a bullet fired directly into his brain I shouldn't be surprised that Steve can handle himself in the kitchen. Except that I am. Because I have never seen him do any form of cooking the entire time I've known him.

"You are going to catch a fly in your mouth if you continue to stand there, slack jawed staring at me" He smiles as he chops up a cucumber.

"Since when do you cook?"

"Since when does chopping things count as cooking?"

"Since when does that count as an answer?"

"Since when is a boyfriend not allowed to maintain a slight air of mystery around himself?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Oh. Excuse me" I return playfully "I'll just leave you and your air of mystery to finish the salad."

Andrew walks in and the levity is sucked out of the room. Well, for me at least. Steve turns to Andrew and smiles warmly.

"You know what I was thinking?" Steve asks.

"No." Andrew replies grimly sitting on the kitchen island.

"When all this is over….If all this is ever over.. we should head down to Tibet. The monks, the temples, the freezing ass weather. Sounds perfect, right?"

Andrew flashes a ghost of a smile.

"You would want to go?" Andrew asks.

"I always thought we would. We're all still alive so there isn't anything stopping us."

"Right, nothing" Andrew gestures to the walls "Sorry, man, I was just pointing at all the nothing that isn't stopping us," He finishes awkwardly.

"I don't see anything stopping us," Steve deadpans.

I laugh.

"I don't know if you can come, Aisha. It's a dudes only Tibet trip. You know the kind?"

"Oh yeah- tale as old as time. My boyfriend and his friends flew off to Tibet and left me behind. I totally understand."

"You can come" Andrew says seriously.

"Thanks, Andrew" I don't try to hide my surprise.

"Yeah. Tibet," Andrew muses.

Over dinner Andrew squares his body to face Adrian.

"So, the beacon?" He begins. Adrian tenses.

I am considering whether to intervene or to let it play out. Andrew can be the bad guy and I can get answers.

"Look" Adrian puts down his cutlery "I was nervous and I forgot and I wanted to demonstrate leadership. I figured it would end up making me more valuable. I didn't, I still don't" He pauses and looks down at his plate "I don't want to die."

"How did you forget, though?" Matt asks incredulously.

"You aren't a soldier." Steve suggests calmly.

We all turn and watch his face. His face crumples under the weight of the truth.

"What?" It is my turn to be incredulous.

"I was in basic training. I was on watch duty and that's when I found it," Adrian admits.

"So you haven't been in active duty?" Steve confirms.

"No. They don't say it like that but, no." Adrian admits.

We all spend some time digesting the information.

"It doesn't really matter so why lie about it?" I ask.

Even as I ask I know the answer. He didn't want to die. He had no one looking out for him.

"It was stupid" He sighs.

Andrew scoffs in response.

"We'll all do better next time" I say, in an attempt to conclude the conversation.

* * *

><p>We are called in for more debrief after dinner where we have to discuss our strengths and weaknesses on our last mission. The weaknesses outweigh the strengths. Everyone is criticized pretty heavily but Adrien gets it the worst. After debrief we run drills for hours without a break. Sharon shields thoroughly but after a few hours she doesn't have to. I barely have the strength to stand up. The shield keeps coming down. They made it stronger. We make it through every time and the simulation resets with a slight variation. I assume leadership and the whole team seems to respond. We make it through and it resets. Matt has been leading Steve through the course while I have been flying to get a better vantage point and call out any surprises. We can't all fly. We tried this once but it triggers something that makes the whole thing very messy. I use my masking when I'm up there- it helps. The last time we run it, it all goes to shit. Matt gets smacked in the face by a flying piece of debri. Andrew runs over to help him and Steve. Matt shakes Andrew off angrily. Steve is disoriented by their anger. The force field is closing. Adrien is already on the other side. I watch them anxiously for a moment, willing them to remember what is important. That doesn't work and the descending force field means I have to land. I grab the three idiots and hurl them to the finish. The field speeds up. There isn't any room to fly. There's barely any room to stand. I crawl towards the end. Fog clouds my vision. Excellent. I try to create a breeze to clear a path. It doesn't work. I hear it getting closer. It sounds like the sides are closing in as well. I feel an arm reach for me and begin to drag me out. He is too late. The force field crashes into us. Nothing prepared me for the feeling of that level of voltage crashing into me. Blacking out is a relief. We are revived and informed that the session is over. The mood is heavy as we trudge back to the house. My whole body is tingling, the ache is bone deep and there is a ringing in my ears. Everyone's pain, anger and frustration is like a thick wool blanket. I can't make out the specific and yet the din is overpowering.<p>

"Do you think they are sending us out again soon?" Matt definitely asks stupid questions when he is nervous. I head to my room, studiously avoid looking at my bed and will myself to the shower. We have training tomorrow and the shower will help with the soreness. I change into my pyjamas before heading into Steve's room. I pick up an uncomfortable pang of jealousy from Adrian who misses his girlfriend so much as he passes me in the hall it is a dull ache. God, it is exhausting to feel everything. I shield as best as I can and duck into Steve's room. The adrenaline is wearing off and my whole body sags.

"Who is it?" He asks as he hears me enter.

"It's me" He must be exhausted if he couldn't tell as I walked in.

"You came back for me." I note as I climb into bed with him.

"Of course I did" His voice is gruff but he shifts on to his back and carefully opens his arms to accommodate me.

"So.. that's what that thing feels like" I joke weakly.

"The worst."

"I didn't think it was that bad." We both laugh.

**Sharon is one of us** I confess, deciding to pass it on telepathically in case the house is bugged. Which means shielding so the others don't catch it by mistake.

"What?"

**She has abilities, like us **I add**.**

"She told you?" He asks, sitting up.

**No. She came over to warn me. She told me we should play along, bide our time, make ourselves useful and wait for an opportunity. **

"I agree with that" He says neutrally.

"Do you think I should tell the others?" I ask.

**The fewer lies to keep track of, the better **He thinks.

"Thank you for coming back for me," I say reaching over him to turn off the lamp.

"I think they just wanted to punish you after your display. Tomorrow won't be as rough, hopefully" He says, squeezing my hand as I settle in next to him.

"Honestly I'm not sure I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow. Everything aches" I groan.

We lie in the dark for a little.

"We'll get out of this" He promises.

We tell everyone over breakfast. Andrew has a worrying non-reaction. Adrian is bewildered but I can feel him forcing himself to calm down. He takes a few deep breaths and Matt speaks first.

"So what does that mean- abilities?"

"I don't know. I couldn't really tell. She claims she is on our side. That we should just cooperate." I've been using the euphemism 'cooperate' for a while now. Even though I know what it means. Kill. Act as assassins for America. I'm from one of those countries full of disposable brown people. How do I reconcile this?

**I know **Steve agrees with me.

"Sorry, thinking too loudly."

"Moral and sociopolitical concerns aside, we need to be concerned with our survival primarily. Especially if there are others. Especially if they can help." Adrian says.

"Okay. Say we survive. Say we get out. We can't go back to our old lives. We can't stop running. What do we file this assassin period of our lives under? Youthful indiscretions? The things we had to do to survive?" I stab my eggs.

"We'll figure it out because we'll be alive to figure it out." Steve squeezes my hand.

"For today, I was thinking we should play up our injuries" Andrew suggests.

We all turn to look at him blankly.

"Everyone still hurts, right?" He asks

Everyone nods tentatively. I definitely still hurt. A giant bruise has bloomed on my torso, which I need to get taken care of. I'm worried I'm bleeding internally. Our ability to regenerate has gotten stronger with all the training but it isn't instant and it isn't complete.

"I think because I came back from the dead they think that we heal immediately and are indestructible. Which is why they can use voltage that high for training. If we are going to keep our strength up for whatever comes up next, we need them to take it easier on us. Maybe see us as human" Andrew explains.

This is actually a good idea.

"Maybe this will help?" I lift my shirt exposing the bruise.

Matt and Adrian inhale loudly, proving that it looks as bad as I think it does.

"It doesn't hurt that much." I note.

"You are the one they were trying to punish yesterday. Maybe this will help. Really play it up." Andrew encourages.

When we get to the center I shyly approach Sharon. It actually isn't that hard to play up my injuries. Just the sight of a new, reconfigured obstacle course makes me feel sick.

"Aisha" She greets me cooly while checking something on her tablet.

"Can I please see a Doctor?" I ask disgusted by the meekness in my voice. I raise my shirt to reveal the bruise.

She looks at me and cannot hide her reaction to it. Without another word she walks out and leaves us standing in the training hanger. We suspect there is an observatory somewhere where Sharon and Tim get their orders from superiors we have never met or seen. It is pretty difficult to sense someone you have never met. I can tell they are in the building but I have no idea what they want. Sharon comes back and ushers us all into the building where we had they took our blood on the first day. I am seen to first. They ask me to change into a hospital gown and I get a full work up. A person hands me some contrast fluid to drink and I am wheeled to an MRI. I'm not sure where the others are. I am starting to wonder if this was a good idea. I do not like ingesting strange things and being isolated. In the MRI, I start to panic.

"You need to hold still or the images will be blurry and you'll just have to do it again." Comes a kind deep voice through the intercom.

"I don't like small spaces." I squirm more.

"There's nothing I can do about that, ma'am. My orders are to get the scan so you really need to be still." His tone is growing impatient.

"Do I look old enough to be a ma'am?" I ask.

No one replies.

"Call me Aisha. Please" I ask.

"Okay, Aisha. I can't do anything about the confined space but how about we just chat and you stay still until this is over" He offers

"Okay" I agree.

The machine starts again and he chats to me while avoiding giving me any information about where we are or who he is. It is exceptionally dull small talk. But it opens him up and I find a way in. I now have a way to find out how to disarm our trackers.

"Do you have a name?" I ask as I come out of the machine.

He gives me a smile that shows that I should know better. But he thinks it. Michael. Michael thinks I am cute. Thank you, Michael. You are going to be useful.

I don't need surgery since the internal bleeding is resolving itself but I get some medicine and I get to spend the day in the medical bay. Which I thought would be nice and restful but I actually feel disconnected and nervous. At the end of training I am sent home with everyone else.

"Wow do I look as tired at the end of the day as you guys do right now?" I joke. They all look fried.

"They actually went easy on us today. We have a session tomorrow that will not involve running around." Steve smiles.

"Really?"

"Yup. Espionage stuff." Adrian confirms.

"Perfect" I smile and telepathically pass on my day with my new friend Michael.


End file.
